wisdom
wis·dom/ˈwɪzdəm/noun
wisdom is spelled W-I-S-D-O-M: 6 letters and 2 syllables (wis·dom). It appears 20 times per million words in written English, the 4,302nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, wisdom means “An element of personal character that enables one to distinguish the wise from the unwise” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of wisdom is wisdoms.
How many letters and syllables are in wisdom?
| Letters | 6: W-I-S-D-O-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: wis·dom |
| In writing | 20 times per million words; the 4,302nd 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 wisdom?
Wisdom appears 20 times per million words in written English, the 4,302nd 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 wisdom?
- US /ˈwɪzdəm/
Wisdom has 2 syllables, split wis·dom in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-wisdom.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of wisdom
- wisdoms plural
- wisdome
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does wisdom mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An element of personal character that enables one to distinguish the wise from the unwise.
- 2
A piece of wise advice.
- 3
The discretionary use of knowledge for the greatest good.
- 4
The ability to apply relevant knowledge in an insightful way, especially to different situations from that in which the knowledge was gained.
- 5
The ability to make a decision based on the combination of knowledge, experience, and intuitive understanding.
- 6
The ability to know and apply spiritual truths.
- 7
rareA group of wombats.
- 8
rareA group of owls.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Wisdom in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sagesse |
| German | Weisheit |
| Portuguese | sabedoria, sagacidade, sapiência , orientação , bom senso |
| Spanish | sabiduría |
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 wisdom come from?
From Middle English wisdom, from Old English wīsdōm (“wisdom”), from Proto-West Germanic *wīsadōm, from Proto-Germanic *wīsadōmaz (“wisdom”), corresponding to wise + -dom. Cognate with Scots wisdom, wysdom (“wisdom”), West Frisian wiisdom (“wisdom”), Dutch wijsdom (“wisdom”), German Weistum (“legal sentence”), Danish/Norwegian/Swedish visdom (“wisdom”), Icelandic vísdómur (“wisdom”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).