Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

nosocomial

/ˌnɑ.səˈkoʊ.mi.əl/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.88 in modern English

Syllables
no-so-com-i-al
IPA
/ˌnɑ.səˈkoʊ.mi.əl/
14
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
5
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of an infection or its cause: arising from the environment of, or treatment in, a hospital.

Formal

adj

Of, relating to, or happening in a hospital.

Formal

Example Sentences

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Late Latin nosocomīum (“hospital, infirmary”) + English -al (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). Nosocomīum is borrowed from Ancient Greek νοσοκομεῖον (nosokomeîon, “hospital, infirmary”), from νοσοκομέω (nosokoméō, “to tend the sick”) + -εῖον (-eîon, suffix forming nouns denoting places); νοσοκομέω (nosokoméō) is from νόσος (nósos, “disease, illness, sickness”) (further etymology uncertain) + κομέω (koméō, “to take care of, look after, tend”) (from Proto-Indo-European *kem(H)- (“to be tired; to exert oneself”)).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *kem(H)-, νοσοκομεῖον

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˌnɑ.səˈkoʊ.mi.əl/
  • British English: /ˌnɒ.sə(ʊ)ˈkəʊ.mi.əl/

Usage

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Questions

How do you pronounce nosocomial?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˌnɑ.səˈkoʊ.mi.əl/.
What does nosocomial mean?
Of an infection or its cause: arising from the environment of, or treatment in, a hospital.
Where does nosocomial come from?
It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce nosocomial

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