quisling
/ˈkwɪz.lɪŋ/noun, verb
quisling is spelled Q-U-I-S-L-I-N-G: 8 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 derogatory noun, quisling means “A traitor who collaborates with the enemy” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of quisling is quislings.
How many letters and syllables are in quisling?
| Letters | 8: Q-U-I-S-L-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American 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 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 quisling?
Quisling 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 quisling?
- /ˈkwɪz.lɪŋ/
Quisling 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: En-au-quisling.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of quisling
- quislings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does quisling mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
derogatoryA traitor who collaborates with the enemy.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of quisle
noun
- 1
Alternative letter-case form of quisling.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Quisling in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense traitor:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | quisling, collabo |
| German | Kollaborateur, Verräter |
| Portuguese | quisling |
| Spanish | colaboracionista, traidor |
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 quisling come from?
Named after Norwegian military officer Vidkun Quisling (1887–1945), who ruled the Nazi collaborationist government of Norway during World War Two. From Quislinus, Latinization of Quislin, based on the Danish place name Kvislemark. This term first appeared in 1940. The surname is seemingly supposed to mean "one who is from Kvislemark", and is equivalent to Kvisle(mark) + -ing (suffix designating a person of a certain origin or with certain qualities).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).