Punic
/ˈpjuːnɪk/adjective, noun
Punic is spelled P-U-N-I-C: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 58,714th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, Punic means “Of or relating to ancient Carthage, its inhabitants, or their language” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in Punic?
| Letters | 5: P-U-N-I-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 58,714th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is Punic?
Punic appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 58,714th 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 Punic?
- /ˈpjuːnɪk/
Punic has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Sumxr-Punic.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of Punic
- more Punic comparative
- most Punic superlative
- Punics plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does Punic mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of or relating to ancient Carthage, its inhabitants, or their language.
- 2
Perfidious, treacherous, faithless.
noun
- 1
A native or inhabitant of ancient Carthage; a Carthaginian.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Punic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | punique |
| Portuguese | púnico , traiçoeiro |
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 Punic come from?
From Latin Pūnicus, variant of Poenicus, from Poenus + -icus, from Ancient Greek Φοῖνιξ (Phoînix), from Mycenaean Greek 𐀡𐀛𐀑𐀍 (po-ni-ki-jo) under influence from φοινός (phoinós, “crimson red”) owing to its relation to Tyrian purple, apparently from or cognate with Egyptian fnḫw (“Asiatics, Semites”), f:n:x-w-V12:Z2. Equivalent to a modified Phoenician + -ic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).