spence
noun
spence is spelled S-P-E-N-C-E: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,297th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Spence, the name). As a noun, spence means “A buttery or pantry” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of spence is spences.
How many letters and syllables are in spence?
| Letters | 6: S-P-E-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.2 times per million words; the 18,297th 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 spence?
Spence appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,297th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Spence, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce spence?
- Canada
Spence has one syllable (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-ca-spence.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of spence
- spences plural
- spense
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does spence mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
UKdatedA buttery or pantry.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does spence come from?
From Middle English spence, spense, borrowed from Middle French despense, from Medieval Latin dīspēnsa, noun use of feminine of Latin dīspēnsus, past participle of dīspendere (“weigh out”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).