sublunary
sub·lun·a·ry/sʌbˈluːnəɹi/adjective, noun
sublunary is spelled S-U-B-L-U-N-A-R-Y: 9 letters and 4 syllables (sub·lun·a·ry). It appears about once in every 65 million words in written English, the 252,559th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, sublunary means “Situated beneath the moon; specifically, between the moon and the earth” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in sublunary?
| Letters | 9: S-U-B-L-U-N-A-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: sub·lun·a·ry |
| In writing | about once in every 65 million words; the 252,559th 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 sublunary?
Sublunary appears about once in every 65 million words in written English, the 252,559th 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 sublunary?
- UK /sʌbˈluːnəɹi/
- UK /sʌbˈluːnɹi/
- UK /ˈsʌbl(j)uːnəɹɪ/
Sublunary has 4 syllables, split sub·lun·a·ry in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-sublunary.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sublunary
- sublunaries plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sublunary mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Situated beneath the moon; specifically, between the moon and the earth.
- 2
In or of this world (as opposed to heaven, etc.); earthly, terrestrial.
- 3
Of or relating to the material world (as opposed to clerical, sacred, or spiritual); ephemeral, temporal, worldly.
- 4
Inferior, subordinate.
noun
- 1
A person or thing which is of the (material) world.
- 2
A less important person; an inferior, a subordinate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sublunary in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense situated beneath the moon; specifically, between the moon and the earth:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sublunaire |
| German | sublunarisch |
| Spanish | sublunar |
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 sublunary come from?
The adjective is a learned borrowing from Late Latin sublūnāris (“sublunar, sublunary”) + English -ary (suffix meaning of or pertaining to forming adjectives). Sublūnāris is derived from Latin sub- (prefix meaning ‘below, beneath, under’) + lūnāris (“of or pertaining to the moon, lunar”) (from lūna (“moon”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“bright; to see; to shine”)) + -āris (suffix forming adjectives denoting a pertaining to or relationship)). By surface analysis, sub- + lunary. The noun is derived from the adjective.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).