valerian
/vəˈlɪ(ə)ɹ.i.ən/noun
valerian is spelled V-A-L-E-R-I-A-N: 8 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,230th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Valerian, the name). As a noun, valerian means “A hardy perennial flowering plant, Valeriana officinalis, with heads of sweetly scented pink or white flowers” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of valerian is valerians.
How many letters and syllables are in valerian?
| Letters | 8: V-A-L-E-R-I-A-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 48,230th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is valerian?
Valerian appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,230th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Valerian, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce valerian?
- UK /vəˈlɪə.ɹi.ən/
- UK /vəˈlɛə.ɹi.ən/
- US /vəˈlɪ(ə)ɹ.i.ən/
Valerian 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). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-valerian.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with valerian?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as valerian from its last stressed vowel (/ɪɹiən/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of valerian
- valerians plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does valerian mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A hardy perennial flowering plant, Valeriana officinalis, with heads of sweetly scented pink or white flowers.
- 2
More generally, any plant of the genus Valeriana.
- 3
The root of Valeriana officinalis, used in herbal medicine.
- 4
An extract of the dried roots of the Valeriana officinalis used in herbal medicine as a sedative.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Valerian in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | valériane |
| German | Baldrian, Katzenbaldrian , Baldrianwurzel , Baldrianextrakt |
| Portuguese | valeriana |
| Spanish | valeriana |
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 valerian come from?
From Old French valeriane or Medieval Latin valeriāna, a reinterpretation of what is found as German Baldrian after valēre (“to be powerful”) or also the gentilic name Valerius, which is seemingly borrowed in the Dark Age period from the late 6ᵗʰ to early 8ᵗʰ century from Turkic or Proto-Mongolic, when the Pannonian Avars were direct neighbours to the Germans, notably also present in Hungarian bojtorján (“burdock”), ultimately from Proto-Mongolic, reflected as Middle Mongol ᠪᠠᠯᠴᠢᠷᠭᠠᠨᠠ (balčirɣan-a, “false hellebore; angelica”), composed as ᠪᠠᠯᠴᠢᠷ (balčir, “infant; young, tender, fresh, rank”)
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).