Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

hermit

/ˈhɝmɪt/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.21 in modern English

Syllables
her-mit
IPA
/ˈhɝmɪt/
11
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A religious recluse; someone who lives alone for religious reasons; an eremite.

noun

A recluse; someone who lives alone and shuns human companionship.

noun

A spiced cookie made with molasses, raisins, and nuts.

noun

A hermit crab.

noun

Any in the subfamily Phaethornithinae of hummingbirds.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English hermite, heremite, eremite, from Old French eremite, from Ecclesiastical Latin, Late Latin eremita, from Ancient Greek ἐρημίτης (erēmítēs, “person of the desert”) from ἐρημία (erēmía, “desert, solitude”), from ἔρημος (érēmos) or ἐρῆμος (erêmos, “uninhabited”) plus -ίτης (-ítēs, “one connected to, a member of”). Doublet of eremite. Displaced native Old English ānsetla.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: hermite, eremite, -, eremita, ἐρημίτης

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈhɝmɪt/
  • British English: /ˈhɜːmɪt/

Inflected Forms

hermits (plural) eremite (alternative, obsolete) heremit (alternative, obsolete) heremite (alternative, obsolete)

Derived Forms

hermie hermitage hermitary hermitess hermithood hermitic hermitical hermitically hermitish hermitism hermitization hermitize

Phrases

bald-headed hermit garden hermit hermit-bird hermit crab hermit-crow hermit kingdom hermit thrush hermit warbler

Frequently Paired Words

monachos monk

Synonyms

anchorite eremite aloner anchoret hermit Miller of Dee monk recluse shut-in solitary sullen

Rhymes With

mcdermott dermot mcdermitt permit kermit

Questions

How do you pronounce hermit?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈhɝmɪt/.
What does hermit mean?
A religious recluse; someone who lives alone for religious reasons; an eremite.
Where does hermit come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce hermit

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