Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

emporium

/ɛmˈpoɹ.i.əm/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.90 in modern English

Syllables
em-por-i-um
IPA
/ɛmˈpoɹ.i.əm/
14
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
4
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A city or region which is a major trading centre; also, a place within a city for commerce and trading; a marketplace.

noun

The brain.

Obsolete

Example Sentences

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin emporium (“trading station; business district in a city; market town”), from Ancient Greek ἐμπόριον (empórion, “factory, trading station; market”), from ἔμπορος (émporos, “merchant, trader; traveller”) + -ιον (-ion, suffix forming nouns). ἔμπορος is derived from ἐμ- (em-) (variant of ἐν- (en-, prefix meaning ‘in; within’)) + πόρος (póros, “journey; passageway”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to go through; to carry forth”)), modelled after ἐν πόρῳ (en pórōi, “at sea; en route”). Sense 4 (“the brain”) alludes to the organ as the place where many nerves or nerve impulses meet. Not related to English empire.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *per- (fare), emporium, ἐμπόριον, *per-

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ɛmˈpoɹ.i.əm/
  • British English: /ɛmˈpɔːɹ.i.əm/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce emporium?
The recorded pronunciation is /ɛmˈpoɹ.i.əm/.
What does emporium mean?
A city or region which is a major trading centre; also, a place within a city for commerce and trading; a marketplace.
Where does emporium come from?
It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce emporium

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