silverback
noun
silverback is spelled S-I-L-V-E-R-B-A-C-K: 10 letters. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 63,645th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, silverback means “A mature male gorilla leading a troop, so named from the silver streaking on its back” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of silverback is silverbacks.
How many letters and syllables are in silverback?
| Letters | 10: S-I-L-V-E-R-B-A-C-K |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 63,645th 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 silverback?
Silverback appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 63,645th 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).
Forms of silverback
- silverbacks plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does silverback mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A mature male gorilla leading a troop, so named from the silver streaking on its back.
- 2
informalA dominant or powerful older human male.
- 3
Any of various ferns of the genus Pityrogramma.
- 4
Any member of the species Rhodamnia cinerea of plants of southeastern Asia.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Silverback in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense mature male gorilla:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | dos argenté |
| German | Silberrücken |
| Spanish | espalda plateada |
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 silverback come from?
From silver + back.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).