Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

dalek

/ˈdɑːlɛk/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.83 in modern English

Syllables: dalek
IPA: /ˈdɑːlɛk/

10

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A member of a species of extraterrestrial cyborg mutants who appear in the television programme Doctor Who and are known for travelling in metallic shells, having monotone, mechanically distorted voices, repeating a limited number of phrases, and their fanatical obsession with exterminating other, non-Dalek beings.

noun

One who is dogmatic, unfeeling and determined.

noun

Alternative letter-case form of Dalek.

Example Sentences

"'But Alydon,' I persisted, 'the Daleks aren't human beings. They're just evil, half creatures, half machines, determined to destroy you.'"
"[…] what kind of courage it must have taken for Hawkins, an actor renowned for the quality of his voice, to go back onto the set to deliver lines in that oesophageal monotone, what he called his "Dalek voice"."
"This synthesizer is by far the best I have heard, because it varies the intonation, and does not speak like a Dalek."
"My voice still insisted on disappearing into my shoes every time it happened so that I sounded like a Dalek, but with a bit of experience behind me I felt marginally more confident."
"One man was skiting around on a big, wheeled camera like a Dalek, dodging the scurrying assistants and clipboard-wielders, […]"
"Then the Dalek turned and picked off the other passengers one by one. It screamed... 'Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!'"

Etymology

Coined by Terry Nation in 1963 for his script of The Mutants (later retitled "The Daleks"), the second serial of the first season of Doctor Who. Accounts of how he devised the word vary. Within the Doctor Who universe, the word is supposed to be related to the name of the people from whom the Daleks evolved, either the Kaleds (as according to later serial Genesis of the Daleks) or the Dals (as in The Daleks), or to derive from a word meaning "gods" in their (fictional) language, in which the sacred "Book of Predictions" is written. According to the I, Davros audio fiction the book reads "...and on that day, men will become as gods", with the last word pronounced "Dal-eks".

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈdɑːlɛk/
British English: /ˈdɑːlɛk/

Inflected Forms

Daleks (plural)

Derived Forms

daleky

Phrases

Dalek voice

Questions

How do you pronounce dalek?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈdɑːlɛk/.
What does dalek mean?: A member of a species of extraterrestrial cyborg mutants who appear in the television programme Doctor Who and are known for travelling in metallic shells, having monotone, mechanically distorted voices, repeating a limited number of phrases, and their fanatical obsession with exterminating other, non-Dalek beings.
Where does dalek come from?: Coined by Terry Nation in 1963 for his script of The Mutants (later retitled "The Daleks"), the second serial of the first season of Doctor Who. Accounts of how he devised the word vary. Within the Doctor Who universe, the word is supposed to be related to the name of the people from whom the Daleks evolved, either the Kaleds (as according to later serial Genesis of the Daleks) or the Dals (as in The Daleks), or to derive from a word meaning "gods" in their (fictional) language, in which the sacred "Book of Predictions" is written. According to the I, Davros audio fiction the book reads "...and on that day, men will become as gods", with the last word pronounced "Dal-eks".

How to pronounce dalek

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