sepsis
/ˈsɛpsɪs/noun
sepsis is spelled S-E-P-S-I-S: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,556th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sepsis means “A serious medical condition in which the whole body is inflamed, causing injury to its own tissues and organs as a response to infection” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sepsis is sepses.
How many letters and syllables are in sepsis?
| Letters | 6: S-E-P-S-I-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.0 times per million words; the 28,556th 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 sepsis?
Sepsis appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,556th 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 sepsis?
- /ˈsɛpsɪs/
Sepsis 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-sepsis.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sepsis
- sepses plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sepsis mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A serious medical condition in which the whole body is inflamed, causing injury to its own tissues and organs as a response to infection.
Imagine the sepsis of helpless loathing [Jimmy Connors] must have inspired in his opponents during his "great runs" at the US Open.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sepsis in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense serious medical condition in which the whole body is inflamed:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sepsis |
| German | Sepsis, Blutvergiftung, Septikämie |
| Portuguese | sepse, sépsis |
| Spanish | sepsis |
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 sepsis come from?
From Ancient Greek σῆψις (sêpsis, “putrefaction”), from σήπω (sḗpō, “to make rotten”), from σήψ (sḗps, “a kind of lizard; also a kind of serpent whose bite was alleged to cause putrefaction”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).