soothsayer
/ˈsuθˌseɪɚ/noun
soothsayer is spelled S-O-O-T-H-S-A-Y-E-R: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 74,980th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, soothsayer means “One who attempts to predict the future, using magic, intuition or intelligence; a diviner” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of soothsayer is soothsayers.
How many letters and syllables are in soothsayer?
| Letters | 10: S-O-O-T-H-S-A-Y-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 6 million words; the 74,980th 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 soothsayer?
Soothsayer appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 74,980th 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 soothsayer?
- US /ˈsuθˌseɪɚ/
- UK /ˈsuːθˌseɪə/
Soothsayer has 3 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-soothsayer.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of soothsayer
- soothsayers plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does soothsayer mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
One who attempts to predict the future, using magic, intuition or intelligence; a diviner.
- 2
A mantis (Mantodea spp.)
- 3
obsoleteOne who tells the truth; a truthful person.
- 4
A double dart moth (Graphiphora augur).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Soothsayer in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense one who predicts the future:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | prophète, prophétesse, devin |
| German | Seher, Seherin, Wahrsager, Wahrsagerin, Zeichendeuter, Spökenkieker |
| Portuguese | adivinho, adivinha |
| Spanish | adivino, adivina |
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 soothsayer come from?
From Middle English sothsaier, zothziggere, by surface analysis, sooth (“truth”) + sayer.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).