spittle
/ˈspɪ.t(ə)l/noun, verb
spittle is spelled S-P-I-T-T-L-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 70,702nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, spittle means “Spit, usually frothy and of a milky coloration” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of spittle is spittles.
How many letters and syllables are in spittle?
| Letters | 7: S-P-I-T-T-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 6 million words; the 70,702nd 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 spittle?
Spittle appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 70,702nd 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 spittle?
- /ˈspɪ.t(ə)l/
Spittle 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)-Vealhurl-spittle.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of spittle
- spittles plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- spittling participle, present
- spittled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does spittle mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Spit, usually frothy and of a milky coloration.
- 2
Something frothy and white that resembles spit.
- 3
Spit-up or drool of an infant.
- 4
A small sort of spade.
verb
- 1
To dig or stir with a small spade.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Spittle in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense spit, usually frothy:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | crachat, postillon |
| German | Spucke |
| Portuguese | cuspe |
| Spanish | escupida, escupitajo, lapo, espumajo, espumarajo |
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 spittle come from?
Alteration of dialectal spattle (by association with spit (noun)), from Old English spātl, which is related to spǣtan (whence spit (verb)).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).