tanistry
/ˈtæ.nɪ.stɹi/noun
tanistry is spelled T-A-N-I-S-T-R-Y: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 93 million words in written English, the 309,272nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, tanistry means “A form of tenure, in ancient Scotland and Ireland, whereby succession was passed to an elected member of the same extended family” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of tanistry is tanistries.
How many letters and syllables are in tanistry?
| Letters | 8: T-A-N-I-S-T-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 93 million words; the 309,272nd 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 tanistry?
Tanistry appears about once in every 93 million words in written English, the 309,272nd 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 tanistry?
- UK /ˈtæ.nɪ.stɹi/
Tanistry has 3 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of tanistry
- tanistries plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tanistry mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A form of tenure, in ancient Scotland and Ireland, whereby succession was passed to an elected member of the same extended family.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does tanistry come from?
From tanist + -ry.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).