silkworm
/ˈsɪlkwɜːm/noun
silkworm is spelled S-I-L-K-W-O-R-M: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 59,387th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, silkworm means “Any of various caterpillars of moths that produce silk cocoons, especially Bombyx mori, the source of most commercial silk” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of silkworm is silkworms.
How many letters and syllables are in silkworm?
| Letters | 8: S-I-L-K-W-O-R-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 59,387th 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 silkworm?
Silkworm appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 59,387th 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 silkworm?
- UK /ˈsɪlkwɜːm/
Silkworm 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)-Vininn126-silkworm.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of silkworm
- silkworms plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does silkworm mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of various caterpillars of moths that produce silk cocoons, especially Bombyx mori, the source of most commercial silk.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Silkworm in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense caterpillar:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ver à soie, magnan |
| German | Seidenspinner, Seidenraupe |
| Portuguese | bicho-da-seda, sirgo |
| Spanish | gusano de seda |
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 silkworm come from?
From Middle English silkwirm, from Old English seolcwyrm (“silkworm”), equivalent to silk + worm.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).