Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

wendy

/ˈwɛn.di/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.84 in modern English

Syllables: wen-dy
IPA: /ˈwɛn.di/

12

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

name

A female given name.

noun

A wuss; someone who is particularly cowardly.

British usage; Derogatory; Slang

Example Sentences

""What's your name?" he asked. "Wendy Moira Angela Darling," she replied with some satisfaction. "What is your name?" "Peter Pan.""
"Toughen up, you big wendy."

Etymology

Popularized by the character in J. M. Barrie's play, Peter Pan (1904), though occasionally found earlier; the author explained that he got it from Fwendy-Wendy ("friend"), a nickname given to him by a child. Alternatively, from a diminutive of the Welsh Gwendolen; or from Wendelin, a diminutive of Wendel; therefore a doublet of Gwen. A habitational forename meaning, "island at the river bend", from Old English wende (“watercourse with a bend”) + ēġ (“island”).

Origin

Source language: Old English

Word Breakdown

Root: wende

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈwɛn.di/
British English: /ˈwɛn.di/

Usage

Inflected Forms

wendies (plural)

Phrases

Wendy house

Homonyms

windy (pin–pen merger)

Rhymes With

trendy bendy hendy dendy endy hendee arizmendi melendy mende mendy friendy tendie

Questions

How do you pronounce wendy?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈwɛn.di/.
What does wendy mean?: A female given name.
Where does wendy come from?: It is traced to Old English.

How to pronounce wendy

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