Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

cicada

/sɪˈkeɪ.də/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.49 in modern English

Syllables: ci-ca-da
IPA: /sɪˈkeɪ.də/

11

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

3

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of several insects in the superfamily Cicadoidea, with small eyes wide apart on the head and transparent well-veined wings.

noun

Any of several insects in the superfamily Cicadoidea, with small eyes wide apart on the head and transparent well-veined wings.

Example Sentences

"Last spring, the periodical cicadas emerged across eastern North America. Their vast numbers and short above-ground life spans inspired awe and irritation in humans—and made for good meals for birds and small mammals."
"The emergence years of the principal cicada broods have now been recorded for a long time, and the oldest record of a swarm is that of the appearance of the “locusts” in New England two hundred and ninety-five years ago."
"Last year, the Brood I cicadas were found in Virginia, West Virginia, and Tennessee. The cicadas that will emerge in New Jersey this year are part of Brood II or The East Coast Brood. They will also be found in Connecticut, Maryland, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia."

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cicāda, ultimately onomatopoeic. Doublet of cicala.

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: cicāda

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /sɪˈkeɪ.də/
British English: /sɪˈkeɪ.də/

Inflected Forms

cicadas (plural) cicadae (plural) cicadæ (archaic, plural) cicad (alternative)

Derived Forms

cicadabird cicadid cicadin cicadoid cicadomorph

Phrases

annual cicada bladder cicada cicada case cicada-geddon cicada hawk cicada killer dog-day cicada evening cicada

Frequently Paired Words

cricket grasshopper locust

Synonyms

cicala harvest fly jarfly lyreman

Rhymes With

ada grenada veda takeda ikeda maida breda neda sepulveda reda meda reseda

Questions

How do you pronounce cicada?: The recorded pronunciation is /sɪˈkeɪ.də/.
What does cicada mean?: Any of several insects in the superfamily Cicadoidea, with small eyes wide apart on the head and transparent well-veined wings.
Where does cicada come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce cicada

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