Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

esther

/ˈɛstɚ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.62 in modern English

Syllables
es-ther
IPA
/ˈɛstɚ/
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

name

A female given name from Persian.

name

A book of the Old Testament and the Hebrew Tanakh.

name

The heroine of the Book of Esther.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Ἐσθήρ (Esthḗr), from Biblical Hebrew אֶסְתֵּר (ʾestēr). Has been connected to Old Persian 𐎠𐎿𐎫𐎼 (a-s-t-r /⁠star-⁠/, “star”) (whence Middle Persian 𐭮𐭲𐭫 (stl /⁠star⁠/, “star”), 𐭮𐭲𐭠𐭫𐭪 (stʾlk /⁠stārag⁠/, “star”), Persian ستاره (sitāra /setâre, “star”)), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr (if so, a distant doublet of star); or else to Akkadian 𒀭𒈹 (Ištar, “Ishtar”) (Hebrew עִשְׁתָּר (ʿištār)).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: Ἐσθήρ, אֶסְתֵּר, 𐎠𐎿𐎫𐎼, *h₂stḗr

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈɛstɚ/
  • British English: /ˈɛstə/

Inflected Forms

Ester (alternative)

Derived Forms

Estee Estherton Estherville

Frequently Paired Words

Essie Hester Hettie Hetty Vanessa

Homonyms

ester str

Rhymes With

semester investor leicester chester lester sylvester tester hester polyester trimester ester jester

Questions

How do you pronounce esther?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɛstɚ/.
What does esther mean?
A female given name from Persian.
Where does esther come from?
It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce esther

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