saturnine
sa·turn·ine/ˈsætɚˌnaɪn/adjective
saturnine is spelled S-A-T-U-R-N-I-N-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables (sa·turn·ine). It appears about once in every 18 million words in written English, the 128,787th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, saturnine means “Of a person: having a tendency to be cold and gloomy” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in saturnine?
| Letters | 9: S-A-T-U-R-N-I-N-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: sa·turn·ine |
| In writing | about once in every 18 million words; the 128,787th 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 saturnine?
Saturnine appears about once in every 18 million words in written English, the 128,787th 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 saturnine?
- UK /ˈsætənaɪn/
- UK /-nɪn/
- US /ˈsætɚˌnaɪn/
Saturnine has 3 syllables, split sa·turn·ine in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-saturnine.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of saturnine
- more saturnine comparative
- most saturnine superlative
- ♄ine
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does saturnine mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of a person: having a tendency to be cold and gloomy.
- 2
Of a setting: depressing, dull, gloomy.
- 3
archaicSynonym of leaden, of or related to the metal lead, associated with the planet Saturn in European alchemy.
- 4
Caused or affected by lead poisoning (saturnism).
- 5
obsoletePertaining to the astrological influence of the planet Saturn; having the characteristics of a person under such influence (see sense 1).
- 6
Belonging to or resembling butterflies of the family Saturnidae.
adjective
- 1
Of or relating to the ancient Roman god Saturn.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Saturnine in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | düster |
| Portuguese | saturnino, saturnina, soturno, soturna |
| Spanish | saturnino, saturnina, soturno, soturna |
| French | saturnin, saturnine |
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 saturnine come from?
From Middle English saturnine, satournine, satournyne, saturnin, saturnyn, saturnyne (“pertaining to or under the influence of the planet Saturn; line on the palm of the hand associated with Saturn”), from Old French saturnine, saturnin (modern French saturnin (“of, pertaining to, resembling or containing lead, plumbic”)), or directly from its etymon Medieval Latin Sāturnīnus, from Sāturnus (“the Roman god Saturn; the planet Saturn”) + -īnus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’); analysable as Saturn + -ine.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).