Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

thymus

/ˈθaɪ.məs/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.58 in modern English

Syllables
thy-mus
IPA
/ˈθaɪ.məs/
14
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Ellipsis of thymus gland (“A ductless gland, consisting mainly of lymphatic tissue, located behind the top of the breastbone. It is most active during puberty, after which it shrinks in size. It plays an important role in the development of the immune system and produces lymphocytes.”).

Example Sentences

Etymology

From New Latin thymus, from Ancient Greek θύμος (thúmos, “warty excrescence, (also, as used by Galen) thymus gland”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *dʰewh₂-, thymus, θύμος

Regional Pronunciation

  • British English: /ˈθaɪ.məs/

Inflected Forms

thymuses (plural) thymi (plural)

Derived Forms

intrathymus thymectomy thymic thymine thymoma

Frequently Paired Words

enthymeme thyme sweetbreads

Synonyms

thymus gland

Rhymes With

primus deimos gallimimus

Questions

How do you pronounce thymus?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈθaɪ.məs/.
What does thymus mean?
Ellipsis of thymus gland (“A ductless gland, consisting mainly of lymphatic tissue, located behind the top of the breastbone. It is most active during puberty, after which it shrinks in size. It plays an important role in the development of the immune system and produces lymphocytes.”).
Where does thymus come from?
It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce thymus

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