Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

kirkman's schoolgirl problem

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.55 in modern English

Syllables: kirk-man's school-girl prob-lem
IPA

47

Scrabble Score

25

Letters

4

Syllables

15

Unique Chars

Meaning

name

A problem in combinatorics, in which 15 schoolgirls go walking three abreast for seven days in succession, and must be arranged so that no two walk abreast more than once.

Etymology

Proposed by Rev. Thomas Penyngton Kirkman in 1850.

Questions

What does kirkman's schoolgirl problem mean?: A problem in combinatorics, in which 15 schoolgirls go walking three abreast for seven days in succession, and must be arranged so that no two walk abreast more than once.
Where does kirkman's schoolgirl problem come from?: Proposed by Rev. Thomas Penyngton Kirkman in 1850.

How to pronounce kirkman's schoolgirl problem

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “kirkman's schoolgirl problem”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “kirkman's schoolgirl problem”.
Repeat and practice — Say “kirkman's schoolgirl problem” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.