quetzal
/ˈkɛt.səl/noun
quetzal is spelled Q-U-E-T-Z-A-L: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 93,703rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, quetzal means “Any trogon of the genus Pharomacrus, especially a resplendent quetzal (Pharomacrus mocinno), which has very long tail feathers and is found in…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of quetzal is quetzals or quetzales.
How many letters and syllables are in quetzal?
| Letters | 7: Q-U-E-T-Z-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 10 million words; the 93,703rd 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 quetzal?
Quetzal appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 93,703rd 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 quetzal?
- UK /ˈkɛt.səl/
- US /ˈkɛt.səl/
- US /kɛtˈsɑl/
Quetzal has 2 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-quetzal.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of quetzal
- quetzals plural
- quetzales plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does quetzal mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any trogon of the genus Pharomacrus, especially a resplendent quetzal (Pharomacrus mocinno), which has very long tail feathers and is found in Guatemala and Costa Rica.
- 2
A monetary unit used in Guatemala, equal to 100 centavos.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Quetzal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense quetzal bird:
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 quetzal come from?
Borrowed from Spanish quetzal, from Classical Nahuatl quetzalli (“brightly colored tail feather, quetzal feather”), from quetza (“to raise, lift”); see also Classical Nahuatl quetzaltōtōtl (“quetzal bird”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).