theremin
/ˈθɛə.ɹəˌmɪn/noun
theremin is spelled T-H-E-R-E-M-I-N: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 95,993rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, theremin means “An electronic musical instrument that generates sound of varying pitch and volume depending on the proximity of the musician’s hands to two antennas…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of theremin is theremins.
How many letters and syllables are in theremin?
| Letters | 8: T-H-E-R-E-M-I-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 10 million words; the 95,993rd 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 theremin?
Theremin appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 95,993rd 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 theremin?
- UK /ˈθɛ.ɹə.mɪn/
- US /ˈθɛə.ɹəˌmɪn/
Theremin has 3 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-theremin.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of theremin
- theremins plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does theremin mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An electronic musical instrument that generates sound of varying pitch and volume depending on the proximity of the musician’s hands to two antennas mounted on the instrument.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Theremin in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense electronic musical instrument:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | thérémine, éthérophone, thereminvox |
| German | Theremin |
| Portuguese | teremim |
| Spanish | theremín, eterófono |
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 theremin come from?
Named after Russian inventor Léon Theremin (1896–1993). Theremin is a French version of his Russian name, Ле́в Терме́н (Lév Termén).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).