Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

bailiwick

/ˈbeɪ.lɪ.wɪk/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.15 in modern English

Syllables: baili-wick
IPA: /ˈbeɪ.lɪ.wɪk/

20

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The district within which a bailie or bailiff has jurisdiction.

noun

A person's concern or sphere of operations, their area of skill or authority.

Example Sentences

"The Bailiwick of Jersey."
"I established the fairly well-understood pattern that affairs of state were not in my bailiwick."
"Jack is full of these insights, thoughtful turns of phrase from a character whose perpetual struggle between wastrel and righteous is all too familiar a bailiwick for the universal insecurities of the human condition."
"This “feminist chortling” (as she calls it) about the disgraced royal is right in the bailiwick of the writer who virtually invented the term mansplaining."

Etymology

From bailie (“bailiff”) and wick (“dwelling”), from Old English wīc.

Origin

Source language: Old English

Word Breakdown

Root: wīc

Inflected Forms

bailiwicks (plural)

Frequently Paired Words

bailie bailiff

Synonyms

jurisdiction domain department sphere province territory turf wheelhouse

Questions

How do you pronounce bailiwick?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈbeɪ.lɪ.wɪk/.
What does bailiwick mean?: The district within which a bailie or bailiff has jurisdiction.
Where does bailiwick come from?: It is traced to Old English.

How to pronounce bailiwick

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “bailiwick”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈbeɪ.lɪ.wɪk/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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