typhus
/ˈtaɪfəs/noun
typhus is spelled T-Y-P-H-U-S: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 38,863rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, typhus means “Any of several similar diseases, characterised by high recurrent fever, caused by Rickettsia bacteria. Not to be confused with typhoid fever” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of typhus is typhuses.
How many letters and syllables are in typhus?
| Letters | 6: T-Y-P-H-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 38,863rd 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 typhus?
Typhus appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 38,863rd 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 typhus?
- /ˈtaɪfəs/
Typhus 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-typhus.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of typhus
- typhuses plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does typhus mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of several similar diseases, characterised by high recurrent fever, caused by Rickettsia bacteria. Not to be confused with typhoid fever.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Typhus in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense disease:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | typhus |
| German | Fleckfieber, Flecktyphus |
| Portuguese | tifo |
| Spanish | tifus |
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 typhus come from?
From New Latin typhus, from Ancient Greek τῦφος (tûphos, “fever, stupor”), from τύφω (túphō, “to smoke”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ-, extended form of *dʰew- (“scatter like dust”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).