Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

binnacle

/ˈbɪnəkəl/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.71 in modern English

Syllables: bin-na-cle
IPA: /ˈbɪnəkəl/

12

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The wooden housing for a ship's compass, with its corrector magnets and illuminating arrangements.

noun

The instrument cluster on a car or motorcycle.

Example Sentences

"The lamp, or candle, which lights the binnacle, is placed in the cabin, of course the expence of one light is saved, and all the inconveniences of blowing out in a squally night, and likewise the trouble of trimming the lamp, are avoided."

Etymology

Corruption of earlier bittacle, from French habitacle. Or from obsolete Spanish or Portuguese bitácula, both from Late Latin habitāculum (“little dwelling place”). Compare modern Spanish bitácora.

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: habitacle, -, bitácula, habitāculum

Inflected Forms

binnacles (plural)

Phrases

binnacle list

Questions

How do you pronounce binnacle?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈbɪnəkəl/.
What does binnacle mean?: The wooden housing for a ship's compass, with its corrector magnets and illuminating arrangements.
Where does binnacle come from?: It is traced to French.

How to pronounce binnacle

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