wafer
waf·er/ˈweɪ̯fəː/noun, verb
wafer is spelled W-A-F-E-R: 5 letters and 2 syllables (waf·er). It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, wafer means “A light, thin, flat biscuit/cookie” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of wafer is wafers.
How many letters and syllables are in wafer?
| Letters | 5: W-A-F-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: waf·er |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 24,463rd 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 wafer?
Wafer appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd 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 wafer?
- UK /ˈweɪ̯fəː/
- UK [ˈweɪ̯fəː]
- Australia /wæɪ̯fəː/
Wafer has 2 syllables, split waf·er in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-wafer.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of wafer
- wafers plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- wafering participle, present
- wafered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does wafer mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A light, thin, flat biscuit/cookie.
- 2
A thin disk of consecrated unleavened bread used in communion.
- 3
A soft disk originally made of flour, and later of gelatin or a similar substance, used to seal letters, attach papers etc.
- 4
A thin disk of silicon or other semiconductor on which an electronic circuit is produced.
verb
- 1
To seal or fasten with a wafer.
[M]y Father, who knew he was well, wafered the paragraph upon a sheet of paper, and sent to his Lodgings.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Wafer in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | gaufrette , pain à cacheter , wafer |
| German | Oblate, Waffel , Siegeloblate , Wafer, Halbleiterscheibe |
| Portuguese | wafer , obreia |
| Spanish | oblea, barquillo, canutillo, barquilla |
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 wafer come from?
From Middle English wafre, from Anglo-Norman wafre, waufre (Old French gaufre), from a Germanic source. Compare Middle Low German wāfel, Middle Dutch wafel (“honeycomb”), West Flemish wafer. See also waffle.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).