quintain
quin·tain/ˈkwɪntɪn/noun
quintain is spelled Q-U-I-N-T-A-I-N: 8 letters and 2 syllables (quin·tain). It appears about once in every 38 million words in written English, the 189,524th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, quintain means “An object (generally a post or plank on a support) set up as a target to be tilted at in jousting, or otherwise used as target practice” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of quintain is quintains.
How many letters and syllables are in quintain?
| Letters | 8: Q-U-I-N-T-A-I-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: quin·tain |
| In writing | about once in every 38 million words; the 189,524th 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 quintain?
Quintain appears about once in every 38 million words in written English, the 189,524th 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 quintain?
- /ˈkwɪntɪn/
Quintain has 2 syllables, split quin·tain in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of quintain
- quintains plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does quintain mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An object (generally a post or plank on a support) set up as a target to be tilted at in jousting, or otherwise used as target practice.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Quintain in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Translations:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | quintaine |
| German | drehender Roland, Quintana |
| Portuguese | estafermo |
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 quintain come from?
From Anglo-Norman quintaine, quinteine, Middle French quintaine, probably from Latin quīntāna (“street separating fifth and sixth maniples in a Roman camp”), feminine form of quīntānus (“pertaining to the fifth”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).