ruminant
/ˈɹuːmɪnənt/adjective, noun
ruminant is spelled R-U-M-I-N-A-N-T: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 85,266th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, ruminant means “Chewing cud” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ruminant?
| Letters | 8: R-U-M-I-N-A-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 85,266th 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 ruminant?
Ruminant appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 85,266th 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 ruminant?
- /ˈɹuːmɪnənt/
Ruminant has 3 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)-Vealhurl-ruminant.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ruminant
- more ruminant comparative
- most ruminant superlative
- ruminants plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ruminant mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Chewing cud.
- 2
Pondering; ruminative.
noun
- 1
Any artiodactyl ungulate mammal which chews cud in the suborder Ruminantia, such as cattle or deer.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ruminant in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ruminant , ruminante |
| German | wiederkäuend , Wiederkäuer |
| Portuguese | ruminante |
| Spanish | rumiante |
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 ruminant come from?
From Latin rūmināns, rūminantem, present participle of rūminārī (“to chew the cud, ruminate”), from rūmen (“throat, gullet, rumen (first stomach of a ruminant)”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).