trammel
/ˈtræməl/noun, verb
trammel is spelled T-R-A-M-M-E-L: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 11 million words in written English, the 100,430th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, trammel means “Whatever impedes activity, progress, or freedom, such as a net or shackle” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of trammel is trammels.
How many letters and syllables are in trammel?
| Letters | 7: T-R-A-M-M-E-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 11 million words; the 100,430th 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 trammel?
Trammel appears about once in every 11 million words in written English, the 100,430th 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 trammel?
- /ˈtræməl/
Trammel 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-trammel.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of trammel
- trammels plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- trammeling US, participle, present
- trammelling UK, participle, present
- trammeled US, participle, past
- trammelled UK, participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does trammel mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Whatever impedes activity, progress, or freedom, such as a net or shackle.
- 2
A fishing net that has large mesh at the edges and smaller mesh in the middle.
- 3
A kind of net for catching birds, fishes, or other prey.
- 4
A vertical bar with several notches or chain of rings suspended over a fire, used to hang cooking pots by a hook which has an easily adjustable height.
- 5
Braids or plaits of hair.
- 6
A kind of shackle used for regulating the motions of a horse and making it amble.
- 7
An instrument for drawing ellipses, one part of which consists of a cross with two grooves at right angles to each other, the other being a beam carrying two pins (which slide in those grooves), and also the describing pencil.
- 8
A beam compass.
verb
- 1
To entangle, as in a net.
- 2
To confine; to hamper; to shackle.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Trammel in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Behinderung, Hinderung, Fessel , Kesselhaken , fesseln, umfangen |
| Spanish | traba , llares , trabar |
| French | crémaillère |
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 trammel come from?
From Middle English trameyle, from Old French tramail (“net for catching fish”), from Late Latin tremaculum, from tri- (“tri-”) + macula (“spot, speck; mesh, cell”). Cognate with Italian tramaglio (“trammel”), Spanish trasmallo (“drift net”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).