Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

des moines

/dəˈmɔɪn/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.33 in modern English

Syllables
des -moines
IPA
/dəˈmɔɪn/
12
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

name

A river in Minnesota and Iowa, United States, that flows from southern Minnesota into the Mississippi.

Etymology

From the French name of the nearby Rivière des Moines, which superficially means "river of the monks" and has traditionally been interpreted as a reference to the Trappist monks who settled along it. "It is more likely, however, to be a name of Native American origin, recorded in a 1673 text as moinguena", a Miami designation of the Moingona. The precise interpretation is uncertain; see Moingona.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Phrases

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce des moines?
The recorded pronunciation is /dəˈmɔɪn/.
What does des moines mean?
The capital city of Iowa, United States and the county seat of Polk County, named after the river.
Where does des moines come from?
It is traced to French.

How to pronounce des moines

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