topiary
/ˈtoʊpiˌɛəɹi/adjective, noun
topiary is spelled T-O-P-I-A-R-Y: 7 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 66,686th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, topiary means “Of, or relating to art of topiaries” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in topiary?
| Letters | 7: T-O-P-I-A-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 66,686th 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 topiary?
Topiary appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 66,686th 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 topiary?
- UK /ˈtəʊpjəɹi/
- US /ˈtoʊpiˌɛəɹi/
Topiary has 4 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).
Forms of topiary
- topiaries plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does topiary mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of, or relating to art of topiaries.
- 2
Of a tree or shrub, trimmed in artistic shape.
noun
- 1
Art or practice of trimming shrubs or trees in artistic or ornamental shapes, e.g. of animals.
- 2
A garden decorated with such art.
- 3
One such shrub or tree.
We have topiaries for sale.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Topiary in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | topiaire |
| German | Formschnittgärtnerei |
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 topiary come from?
From Latin topiarius (“of or relating to ornamental gardening; an ornamental garden, an ornamental gardener”), from Latin topia (“ornamental gardening, landscape painting”), from Ancient Greek τόπια (tópia, “artistic representation in which natural or artificial features of a place are used as the medium”), plural of Ancient Greek τόπιον (tópion, “field, landscape”), from τόπος (tópos, “place”). The adjective use dates to 1592, the noun use dates to 1908.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).