seaman
/ˈsiːmən/noun
seaman is spelled S-E-A-M-A-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.6 times per million words in written English, the 22,362nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, seaman means “Synonym of sailor, particularly on a maritime vessel” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of seaman is seamen.
How many letters and syllables are in seaman?
| Letters | 6: S-E-A-M-A-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.6 times per million words; the 22,362nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like |
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 seaman?
Seaman appears 1.6 times per million words in written English, the 22,362nd 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 seaman?
- /ˈsiːmən/
Seaman 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-us-seaman.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with seaman
Sounds like: semen (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of seaman
- seamen plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does seaman mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Synonym of sailor, particularly on a maritime vessel.
- 2
UKA person of the lowest rank in the Navy, below able seaman.
- 3
USAn enlisted rate in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard, ranking below petty officer third class and above seaman apprentice.
- 4
A merman; the male of the mermaid.
, Book III not to mention what is confidently reported of mermaids, or sea-men
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Seaman in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense naval rank:
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 seaman come from?
From Middle English seeman, seman, from Old English sǣmann. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Seemon (“seaman, sailor”), West Frisian seeman (“seaman, sailor”), Dutch zeeman (“seaman, sailor”), German Low German Seemann (“seaman, sailor”), German Seemann (“seaman, sailor”), Swedish sjöman (“seaman, sailor”), Norwegian sjømann (“seaman, sailor”). Equivalent to sea + -man.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).