trepanation
trep·a·na·tion/tɹɛpəˈneɪʃən/noun
trepanation is spelled T-R-E-P-A-N-A-T-I-O-N: 11 letters and 4 syllables (trep·a·na·tion). It appears about once in every 25 million words in written English, the 152,206th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, trepanation means “The practice of drilling a hole in the skull as a physical, mental, or spiritual treatment” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of trepanation is trepanations.
How many letters and syllables are in trepanation?
| Letters | 11: T-R-E-P-A-N-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: trep·a·na·tion |
| In writing | about once in every 25 million words; the 152,206th 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 trepanation?
Trepanation appears about once in every 25 million words in written English, the 152,206th 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 trepanation?
- /tɹɛpəˈneɪʃən/
Trepanation has 4 syllables, split trep·a·na·tion in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-trepanation.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-trepanation.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of trepanation
- trepanations plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does trepanation mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The practice of drilling a hole in the skull as a physical, mental, or spiritual treatment.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Trepanation in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense practice of drilling a hole in the skull:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | trépanation |
| German | Trepanation |
| Portuguese | trepanação |
| Spanish | trepanación |
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 trepanation come from?
From New Latin trepanatio, formed from French trépan (“a drill”), itself from Latin trepanum, ultimately from Ancient Greek τρύπανον (trúpanon, “an auger, a drill”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).