preverbal
adjective, noun
preverbal is spelled P-R-E-V-E-R-B-A-L: 9 letters. It appears about once in every 28 million words in written English, the 159,707th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, preverbal means “At an early stage of development in which one is not yet able to communicate by means of words” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in preverbal?
| Letters | 9: P-R-E-V-E-R-B-A-L |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 28 million words; the 159,707th 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 preverbal?
Preverbal appears about once in every 28 million words in written English, the 159,707th 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).
Forms of preverbal
- preverbals plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does preverbal mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
At an early stage of development in which one is not yet able to communicate by means of words.
- 2
Occurring before the verb in a sentence or expression.
noun
- 1
A preverb.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Preverbal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense stage of development before words:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | préverbal |
| German | präverbal |
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 preverbal come from?
From pre- + verbal.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).