Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

aphid

/ˈeɪ.fɪd/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 2.39 in modern English

Syllables
aphid
IPA
/ˈeɪ.fɪd/
11
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A sap-sucking insect pest of the superfamily Aphidoidea; an aphidian.

Etymology

From New Latin aphis (plural aphides), coined by Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus in 1758. His inspiration for the name remains unclear; OED suggests it might stem from a misreading of Ancient Greek κορις (koris, “bug”) (see diagram), in which case the nominative -ις (-is) suffix was reanalyzed as -ις, -ιδος (-is, -idos); while AHD suggests a connection to Ancient Greek ἀφειδής (apheidḗs, “unsparing, lavishly borrowed”) in reference to the insects' voracity or rapid rate of production, from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + φείδομαι (pheídomai, “to spare, be thrifty, be merciful”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to split”). Doublet of aphis.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: aphis, κορις, ἀφειδής, *bʰeyd-

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈeɪ.fɪd/
  • British English: /ˈeɪ.fɪd/

Inflected Forms

aphids (plural)

Derived Forms

aphicide aphidian aphidicide aphidicolin aphidid aphidiine aphidine aphidious aphidivorous aphidlike aphidoid aphidology

Phrases

almond aphid aphid lion aphid midge aphid wolf apple aphid apple-grass aphid apple root aphid artichoke root aphid

Frequently Paired Words

aphidid aphidine aphidoid aphis aphidomorph blackfly greenfly jumping plant louse

Questions

How do you pronounce aphid?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈeɪ.fɪd/.
What does aphid mean?
A sap-sucking insect pest of the superfamily Aphidoidea; an aphidian.
Where does aphid come from?
It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce aphid

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “aphid”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈeɪ.fɪd/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “aphid”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “aphid” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.