Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

syllabus

/ˈsɪləbəs/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.34 in modern English

Syllables: syl-la-bus
IPA: /ˈsɪləbəs/

13

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A summary of topics which will be covered during an academic course, or a text or lecture.

noun

The headnote of a reported case; the brief statement of the points of law determined prefixed to a reported case.

Example Sentences

"In the first half of the year, teachers attended the training workshop for the new K-10 Chinese syllabus. In July, almost all the teachers attended the teacher training courses provided by OCAC."
"‘I checked online for a beginner syllabus,’ she say. ‘A syllabus is a plan for how we would work, what I can teach you.’"

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin syllabus (“list”), which arose from accusative plural syllabōs appearing as a corruption of sittybās (accusative plural of sittyba, from Ancient Greek σιττύβα (sittúba, “parchment label; table of contents”)) in a 1470s edition of Cicero's “Ad Atticum” IV.5 and 8, influenced by the stem of Ancient Greek συλλαμβάνω (sullambánō, “to put together”).

Origin

Source language: Ancient Greek

Word Breakdown

Root: syllabus, σιττύβα, συλλαμβάνω

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈsɪləbəs/

Inflected Forms

syllabi (plural) syllabuses (plural)

Frequently Paired Words

syllable syllabary

Synonyms

course of study program programme curriculum

Questions

How do you pronounce syllabus?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈsɪləbəs/.
What does syllabus mean?: A summary of topics which will be covered during an academic course, or a text or lecture.
Where does syllabus come from?: It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce syllabus

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