sapphire
sap·phire/ˈsæf.aɪ̯əɹ/noun, adjective
sapphire is spelled S-A-P-P-H-I-R-E: 8 letters and 2 syllables (sap·phire). It appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,228th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sapphire means “A clear deep blue variety of corundum, valued as a precious stone” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sapphire is sapphires.
How many letters and syllables are in sapphire?
| Letters | 8: S-A-P-P-H-I-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: sap·phire |
| In writing | 2.8 times per million words; the 16,228th 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 sapphire?
Sapphire appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,228th 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 sapphire?
- UK /ˈsæf.aɪ̯ə/
- US /ˈsæf.aɪ̯əɹ/
Sapphire has 2 syllables, split sap·phire in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-sapphire.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sapphire
- sapphires plural
- more sapphire comparative
- most sapphire superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sapphire mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A clear deep blue variety of corundum, valued as a precious stone.
- 2
A white, yellow, or purple variety of corundum, either clear or translucent.
- 3
A deep blue colour.
- 4
Azure, when blazoning by precious stones.
- 5
Any hummingbird in the genera Hylocharis and Chlorestes, as well as the rufous-throated sapphire, which is now in the genus Amazilia.
- 6
Any of the butterflies in the southern Asian lycaenid genus Heliophorus or the African lycaenid genus Iolaus.
adjective
- 1
of a deep blue colour.
- 2
pertaining to a 45th year
noun
- 1
A stereotype of an aggressive and domineering black woman.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sapphire in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | saphir , colibri à menton bleu |
| German | Saphir , Saphirblau, saphirblau, strahlend blau |
| Portuguese | safira , beija-flor-de-garganta-azul |
| Spanish | zafiro , esmeralda gorgiazul |
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 sapphire come from?
From Middle English saphir, from Old French saphir, from Latin sapphir, sappir, sapphīrus, from Ancient Greek σάπφειρος (sáppheiros, “precious stone, gem”), from a Semitic language such as Hebrew סַפִּיר (sappī́r, “lapis lazuli”), originally from Assyrian Akkadian šipirtu (“lapis lazuli”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).