pomander
pom·an·der/ˈpɒ.mæn.də/noun
pomander is spelled P-O-M-A-N-D-E-R: 8 letters and 3 syllables (pom·an·der). It appears about once in every 52 million words in written English, the 225,584th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pomander means “A mixture of aromatic substances, made into a ball and carried by a person to impart a sweet smell or as a protection against infection” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pomander is pomanders.
How many letters and syllables are in pomander?
| Letters | 8: P-O-M-A-N-D-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: pom·an·der |
| In writing | about once in every 52 million words; the 225,584th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is pomander?
Pomander appears about once in every 52 million words in written English, the 225,584th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce pomander?
- UK /ˈpɒ.mæn.də/
- UK /ˈpəʊ.mæn.də/
- UK /pəˈmæn.də/
Pomander has 3 syllables, split pom·an·der in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-pomander.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of pomander
- pomanders plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pomander mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A mixture of aromatic substances, made into a ball and carried by a person to impart a sweet smell or as a protection against infection.
- 2
A small case in which an aromatic ball was carried.
- 3
A perforated container filled with pot-pourri for placing in a drawer, wardrobe, room, etc., to provide a sweet smell.
- 4
An apple or orange studded with cloves used for the same purpose.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pomander in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense mixture of aromatic substances:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pomme de senteur |
| German | Bisamapfel, Duftkugel |
| Spanish | pomander |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does pomander come from?
From Old French pome d'embre (literally “apple of ambergris”), from Medieval Latin pōmum dē ambra: pōmum (“fruit”) (possibly from *po-emo (“picked off”)); ambra (“amber; ambergris”) (probably from ambrosia (“food or unguent of the gods”), from Ancient Greek ᾰ̓́μβροτος (ắmbrotos, “divine, immortal; belonging to the gods”), from Proto-Indo-European *n̥mr̥tós (“immortal”)).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).