sommelier
som·mel·i·er/ˌsɔməlˈjeɪ/noun, verb
sommelier is spelled S-O-M-M-E-L-I-E-R: 9 letters and 4 syllables (som·mel·i·er). It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 54,192nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sommelier means “The member of staff at a restaurant who keeps the wine cellar and advises the guests on a choice of wines; a wine steward / stewardess, a wine waiter…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sommelier is sommeliers.
How many letters and syllables are in sommelier?
| Letters | 9: S-O-M-M-E-L-I-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: som·mel·i·er |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 54,192nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is sommelier?
Sommelier appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 54,192nd 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 sommelier?
- UK /ˌsɒmˈmɛli.ə/
- UK /ˌsɔːməlˈjeɪ/
- US /ˌsɔməlˈjeɪ/
Sommelier has 4 syllables, split som·mel·i·er in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-sommelier.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with sommelier?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as sommelier from its last stressed vowel (/eɪ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of sommelier
- sommeliers plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- sommeliering participle, present
- sommeliered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sommelier mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The member of staff at a restaurant who keeps the wine cellar and advises the guests on a choice of wines; a wine steward / stewardess, a wine waiter / waitress / server.
The sommelier recommended the perfect wine, opened the bottle with panache, and served it into glasses.
verb
- 1
rareTo act as a sommelier.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate sommelier?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of sommelier: somm.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sommelier in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense wine steward / stewardess, wine waiter / waitress:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sommelier, sommelière |
| German | Weinkellner, Weinkellnerin, Sommelier, Sommelière |
| Portuguese | escanção, sommelier |
| Spanish | sumiller, escanciador |
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 sommelier come from?
Borrowed from French sommelier (“originally, a person in charge of the beasts of burden carrying wine”), from somme (“pack”) + -ier (suffix forming the names of jobs). somme is from Vulgar Latin *sauma, from Latin sagma (“packsaddle”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).