Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

kingfisher

/ˈkɪŋˌfɪʃə/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.87 in modern English

Syllables
king-fish-er
IPA
/ˈkɪŋˌfɪʃə/
21
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of various birds of the suborder Alcedines (or the family Alcedinidae sensu lato), having a large head, short tail and brilliant colouration; they feed mostly on fish.

noun

Any of various birds of the suborder Alcedines (or the family Alcedinidae sensu lato), having a large head, short tail and brilliant colouration; they feed mostly on fish.

name

A city, the county seat of Kingfisher County, Oklahoma, United States.

Etymology

Originally king's fisher, from Middle English kyngys fyschare; equivalent to king + fisher. So named for obscure reasons.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: kyngys fyschare

Regional Pronunciation

  • British English: /ˈkɪŋˌfɪʃə/

Inflected Forms

kingfishers (plural) king's fisher (alternative, obsolete)

Derived Forms

kingfisherlike kingy

Phrases

banded kingfisher beach kingfisher belted kingfisher blue-banded kingfisher blue-capped kingfisher blue-eared kingfisher brown kingfisher common kingfisher

Frequently Paired Words

halcyon kookaburra

Questions

How do you pronounce kingfisher?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkɪŋˌfɪʃə/.
What does kingfisher mean?
Any of various birds of the suborder Alcedines (or the family Alcedinidae sensu lato), having a large head, short tail and brilliant colouration; they feed mostly on fish.
Where does kingfisher come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce kingfisher

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