thermal
/ˈθɝməl/adjective, noun, verb
thermal is spelled T-H-E-R-M-A-L: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,674th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, thermal means “Pertaining to heat or temperature” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in thermal?
| Letters | 7: T-H-E-R-M-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 11 times per million words; the 6,674th 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 thermal?
Thermal appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,674th 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 thermal?
- UK /ˈθɜːməl/
- US /ˈθɝməl/
Thermal 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-thermal.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of thermal
- thermals plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- thermaling US, participle, present
- thermalling UK, participle, present
- thermaled US, participle, past
- thermalled UK, participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does thermal mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Pertaining to heat or temperature.
- 2
Providing efficient insulation so as to keep the body warm.
- 3
Caused or brought about by heat.
- 4
Having a rough finish from treatment with a blowtorch.
noun
- 1
A column of rising air in the lower atmosphere created by uneven heating of a planet's surface.
- 2
FLIR.
- 3
thermocline.
verb
- 1
To create a rough finish on stone by treating it with a high-temperature blowtorch.
- 2
To fly an unpowered aircraft in a thermal (column of rising air).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Thermal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | thermique |
| German | thermisch , Thermik |
| Portuguese | térmico, termal |
| Spanish | termal , térmico |
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 thermal come from?
From French thermal, from New Latin *thermalis, from Ancient Greek θέρμη (thérmē, “heat”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰer- (“to heat, warm”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).