tonsil
ton·sil/ˈtɒn.sɪl/noun
tonsil is spelled T-O-N-S-I-L: 6 letters and 2 syllables (ton·sil). It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 62,894th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, tonsil means “Ellipsis of palatine tonsil” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of tonsil is tonsils.
How many letters and syllables are in tonsil?
| Letters | 6: T-O-N-S-I-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: ton·sil |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 62,894th 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 tonsil?
Tonsil appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 62,894th 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 tonsil?
- UK /ˈtɒn.sɪl/
- UK /ˈtɒn.səl/
- British /ˈtɔn.sɪl/
Tonsil has 2 syllables, split ton·sil in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-tonsil.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of tonsil
- tonsils plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tonsil mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Ellipsis of palatine tonsil.
- 2
Any of various small masses of lymphoid tissues.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tonsil in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | amygdale |
| German | Mandel, Tonsille |
| Portuguese | tonsila, amígdala |
| Spanish | amígdala, amígdala palatina, tonsila palatina , tonsila |
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 tonsil come from?
Borrowed from French tonsille or Latin tonsillae (“the tonsils in the throat”, plural).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).