Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

secretary bird

/ˈsɛkɹəˌtɛɹɪ bɜːd/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.46 in modern English

Syllables
sec-re-tary bird
IPA
/ˈsɛkɹəˌtɛɹɪ bɜːd/
21
Scrabble Score
13
Letters
3
Syllables
10
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A large terrestrial bird of prey, Sagittarius serpentarius, native to Africa with very long legs that preys on reptiles, especially snakes.

Etymology

Probably so named because its crest of long feathers resembles quill pens stuck behind the ears of an office clerk. Alternatively, possibly from Arabic صَقْر اَلطَّائِر (ṣaqr aṭ-ṭāʔir, “hunter bird”), from صَقْر (ṣaqr, “falcon, hawk”) طَائِر (ṭāʔir, “bird”).

Regional Pronunciation

  • British English: /ˈsɛkɹəˌtɛɹɪ bɜːd/

Inflected Forms

secretary birds (plural) secretarybird (alternative)

Synonyms

sagittarius serpentarius

Questions

How do you pronounce secretary bird?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈsɛkɹəˌtɛɹɪ bɜːd/.
What does secretary bird mean?
A large terrestrial bird of prey, Sagittarius serpentarius, native to Africa with very long legs that preys on reptiles, especially snakes.
Where does secretary bird come from?
Probably so named because its crest of long feathers resembles quill pens stuck behind the ears of an office clerk. Alternatively, possibly from Arabic صَقْر اَلطَّائِر (ṣaqr aṭ-ṭāʔir, “hunter bird”), from صَقْر (ṣaqr, “falcon, hawk”) طَائِر (ṭāʔir, “bird”).

How to pronounce secretary bird

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