Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

encyclical

/ɛnˈsɪklɪkəl/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.43 in modern English

Syllables: en-cycli-cal
IPA: /ɛnˈsɪklɪkəl/

19

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

4

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A papal letter, intended for general circulation in the Catholic Church.

adj

Intended for general circulation.

Example Sentences

"In his encyclical – the first major text on safeguarding humankind of his papacy – he also apologised for the Catholic church’s long delay in condemning slavery, describing it as “a wound in Christian memory”, and spoke of the “new forms of slavery” due to the digital economy."

Etymology

From Late Latin encyclicus + -al, from Ancient Greek ἐγκύκλιος (enkúklios, “circular, general”), from ἐν- (en-) + κύκλος (kúklos, “circle”).

Origin

Source language: Ancient Greek

Word Breakdown

Prefix: encyclicus
Root: ἐγκύκλιος
Suffix: -al

Inflected Forms

encyclicals (plural)

Synonyms

encyclical letter

Questions

How do you pronounce encyclical?: The recorded pronunciation is /ɛnˈsɪklɪkəl/.
What does encyclical mean?: A papal letter, intended for general circulation in the Catholic Church.
Where does encyclical come from?: It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce encyclical

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