saltire
sal·tire/ˈsæl.taɪə/noun
saltire is spelled S-A-L-T-I-R-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables (sal·tire). It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 60,074th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, saltire means “An ordinary (geometric design) in the shape of an X. It usually occupies the entire field in which it is placed” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of saltire is saltires.
How many letters and syllables are in saltire?
| Letters | 7: S-A-L-T-I-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: sal·tire |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 60,074th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is saltire?
Saltire appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 60,074th 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 saltire?
- UK /ˈsæl.taɪə/
- UK /ˈsɔːl-/
Saltire has 2 syllables, split sal·tire in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-AcpoKrane-saltire.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with saltire?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as saltire (/æltaɪə/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: realist.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of saltire
- saltires plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does saltire mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An ordinary (geometric design) in the shape of an X. It usually occupies the entire field in which it is placed.
- 2
The Saint Andrew's cross, the flag of Scotland.
- 3
The Saint Patrick's Cross, the pre 1922 flag of Ireland.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Saltire in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense ordinary in the shape of a cross:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sautoir |
| German | Andreaskreuz, Schrägkreuz |
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 saltire come from?
From Middle English sawtoure, from Old French sautoir (“stile, saltire”) (compare French sautoir (“saltire”)), from sauter (“to jump, to leap”) + -oir (subject forming nouns denoting physical objects from verbs), from Latin saltāre (“to dance, to jump”) + -orium, -oria.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).