postilion
/pəˈstɪljən/noun
postilion is spelled P-O-S-T-I-L-I-O-N: 9 letters. It appears about once in every 89 million words in written English, the 301,415th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, postilion means “A rider mounted on the near (left) leading horse who guides the team pulling a carriage” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of postilion is postilions.
How many letters and syllables are in postilion?
| Letters | 9: P-O-S-T-I-L-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 89 million words; the 301,415th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is postilion?
Postilion appears about once in every 89 million words in written English, the 301,415th 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 postilion?
- UK /pɒˈstɪlɪən/
- US /pəˈstɪljən/
- US /poʊˈstɪljən/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-postilion.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with postilion?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as postilion from its last stressed vowel (/ɪljən/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of postilion
- postilions plural
- postillion
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does postilion mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A rider mounted on the near (left) leading horse who guides the team pulling a carriage.
- 2
obsoleteA post-boy, a messenger boy, a swift letter carrier.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Postilion in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense rider mounted on leading horse:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | postillon |
| German | Postillion |
| Spanish | postillón |
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 postilion come from?
From Middle French postillon, and its likely source, Italian postiglione (“guide for driver of post-coach”), from posta (“post”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).