pursuivant
/ˈpɜɹ.sɪ.vənt/noun
pursuivant is spelled P-U-R-S-U-I-V-A-N-T: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 39 million words in written English, the 191,932nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pursuivant means “A functionary of lower rank than a herald, but discharging similar duties; an attendant of the heralds, e.g. in the College of Arms” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pursuivant is pursuivants.
How many letters and syllables are in pursuivant?
| Letters | 10: P-U-R-S-U-I-V-A-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 39 million words; the 191,932nd 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 pursuivant?
Pursuivant appears about once in every 39 million words in written English, the 191,932nd 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 pursuivant?
- UK /ˈpɜː.sɪ.vənt/
- US /ˈpɜɹ.sɪ.vənt/
Pursuivant has 3 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-pursuivant.wav, En-us-pursuivant.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of pursuivant
- pursuivants plural
- poursuivant
- pursevant
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pursuivant mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A functionary of lower rank than a herald, but discharging similar duties; an attendant of the heralds, e.g. in the College of Arms.
- 2
A Grand Lodge Officer who guards the inner door during a meeting of the Grand Lodge.
- 3
A royal messenger, (particularly) one with the authority to execute warrants.
- 4
A warrant officer.
- 5
archaicA follower.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does pursuivant come from?
From Middle English pursevant et al., from Old French pursuivant, present participle of pursuivre (“to follow”). Doublet of pursuant.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).