Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

penicillin

/ˌpɛn.ɪˈsɪl.ɪn/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.04 in modern English

Syllables: pen-i-cil-lin
IPA: /ˌpɛn.ɪˈsɪl.ɪn/

14

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

4

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of a group of narrow-spectrum antibiotics obtained from Penicillium molds or synthesized, that have a beta-lactam structure and are active against gram-positive bacteria and used in the treatment of various infections and diseases.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A blue mold of the genus Penicillium that produces penicillin.

Countable; Uncountable

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *pes- Proto-Indo-European *pes-ni-s Proto-Italic *peznis Latin pēnis Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Proto-Italic *-kelos Latin -culus Latin pēniculus ▲ Proto-Italic *-elos Latin -lus Latin -illum Latin pēnicillum Translingual -ium Translingual Penicillium Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *-iHnos Proto-Italic *-īnos Latin -īnusder. Old French -inbor. Middle English -in English -ineclip. English -in English penicillin From translingual Penicillium + -in. Coined by Alexander Fleming after Penicillium notatum (now Penicillium chrysogenum), a fungus from which penicillin is obtained.

Usage

Inflected Forms

penicillins (plural)

Derived Forms

allylmercaptomethylpenicillin aminopenicillin ampicillin benzylpenicillin carboxypenicillin dimethoxyphenylpenicillin fenbenicillin isopenicillin nonpenicillin penam penicillamine penicillinase

Phrases

benzathine penicillin benzathine penicillin G penicillin G -cillin I'm allergic to penicillin Jewish penicillin penicillin G benzathine penicillinic acid

Rhymes With

dylan villain macmillan dillon mcmillan bouillon gillan millen gillen millan killen guillen

Questions

How do you pronounce penicillin?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌpɛn.ɪˈsɪl.ɪn/.
What does penicillin mean?: Any of a group of narrow-spectrum antibiotics obtained from Penicillium molds or synthesized, that have a beta-lactam structure and are active against gram-positive bacteria and used in the treatment of various infections and diseases.
Where does penicillin come from?: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *pes- Proto-Indo-European *pes-ni-s Proto-Italic *peznis Latin pēnis Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Proto-Italic *-kelos Latin -culus Latin pēniculus ▲ Proto-Italic *-elos Latin -lus Latin -illum Latin pēnicillum Translingual -ium Translingual Penicillium Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *-iHnos Proto-Italic *-īnos Latin -īnusder. Old French -inbor. Middle English -in English -ineclip. English -in English penicillin From translingual Penicillium + -in. Coined by Alexander Fleming after Penicillium notatum (now Penicillium chrysogenum), a fungus from which penicillin is obtained.

How to pronounce penicillin

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