Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

prism

/ˈpɹɪzəm/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.44 in modern English

Syllables
prism
IPA
/ˈpɹɪzəm/
9
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A polyhedron with parallel ends of the same polygonal shape and size, the other faces being parallelogram-shaped sides.

noun

A polyhedron with parallel ends of the same polygonal shape and size, the other faces being parallelogram-shaped sides.

noun

A polyhedron with parallel ends of the same polygonal shape and size, the other faces being parallelogram-shaped sides.

noun

A polyhedron with parallel ends of the same polygonal shape and size, the other faces being parallelogram-shaped sides.

noun

A polyhedron with parallel ends of the same polygonal shape and size, the other faces being parallelogram-shaped sides.

Archaic

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Ancient Greek πρῑ́ω (prī́ō) Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Hellenic *-mə Ancient Greek -μᾰ (-mă) Ancient Greek πρίσμᾰ (prísmă)bor. Late Latin prismalbor. English prism Learned borrowing from Late Latin prisma (“(geometry) prism”), from Ancient Greek πρίσμᾰ (prísmă, “anything sawn; sawdust; (Koine, geometry) prism”), from πρῐ́ζω (prĭ́zō) (a variant of πρῑ́ω (prī́ō, “to saw”), further etymology unknown) + -μᾰ (-mă, suffix forming neuter nouns denoting the effect or result of an action, etc.).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *per-, πρίσμᾰ

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈpɹɪzəm/
  • British English: /ˈpɹɪz(ə)m/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Synonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce prism?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpɹɪzəm/.
What does prism mean?
A polyhedron with parallel ends of the same polygonal shape and size, the other faces being parallelogram-shaped sides.
Where does prism come from?
It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce prism

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