synod
/ˈsɪn.əd/noun
synod is spelled S-Y-N-O-D: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 19,077th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, synod means “An ecclesiastic council or meeting to consult on church matters” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of synod is synods.
How many letters and syllables are in synod?
| Letters | 5: S-Y-N-O-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.1 times per million words; the 19,077th 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 synod?
Synod appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 19,077th 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 synod?
- /ˈsɪn.əd/
Synod 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-synod.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of synod
- synods plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does synod mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An ecclesiastic council or meeting to consult on church matters.
- 2
An administrative division of churches, either the entire denomination, as in the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, or a mid-level division (middle judicatory, district) as in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
- 3
An assembly or council having civil authority (formal); a legislative body.
- 4
A conjunction of two or more of the heavenly bodies.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Synod in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense ecclesiastic council or meeting:
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 synod come from?
From Ancient Greek σύνοδος (súnodos, “assembly, meeting”) – from σύν (sún, “with”) (English syn-) + ὁδός (hodós, “way, path”). Compare also with the term סַנְהֶדְרִין (“sanhedrin”) common throughout Hebrew Talmudic literature.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).