prolate
/ˈpɹəʊ.leɪt/adjective
prolate is spelled P-R-O-L-A-T-E: 7 letters. It appears about once in every 32 million words in written English, the 171,907th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, prolate means “Elongated at the poles” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in prolate?
| Letters | 7: P-R-O-L-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 32 million words; the 171,907th 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 prolate?
Prolate appears about once in every 32 million words in written English, the 171,907th 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 prolate?
- /ˈpɹəʊ.leɪt/
- /pɹəʊˈleɪt/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-prolate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of prolate
- more prolate comparative
- most prolate superlative
- prolates present, singular, he/she/it
- prolating participle, present
- prolated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does prolate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Elongated at the poles.
A cigar is a prolate spheroid.
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo utter; to pronounce.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Prolate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Elongated at the poles:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | oblong |
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 prolate come from?
From Latin prolatum, past participle of proferre (“to extend, lengthen”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).