sandman
/ˈsænd.mæn/noun
sandman is spelled S-A-N-D-M-A-N: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,649th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sandman means “A figure that brings sleep and dreams by sprinkling magical sand into people's eyes” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sandman is sandmen.
How many letters and syllables are in sandman?
| Letters | 7: S-A-N-D-M-A-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 29,649th 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 sandman?
Sandman appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,649th 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 sandman?
- US /ˈsænd.mæn/
Sandman 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-sandman.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sandman
- sandmen plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sandman mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A figure that brings sleep and dreams by sprinkling magical sand into people's eyes.
- 2
Used as a symbol of the passage of time toward death.
- 3
obsoleteA seller of sand.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sandman in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense figure who brings good sleep and dreams:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | marchand de sable |
| German | Sandmann, Sandmännchen |
| Portuguese | João Pestana, joão-pestana |
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 sandman come from?
From sand + -man. The mythological sense may be from German Sandmann, Sandmännchen, as it is apparently first attested in English in the context of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s novella The Sandman (1816). The German is attested in the relevant sense since at least the mid-18th century.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).