Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ephebe

/ɛˈfiːb/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: ephebe
IPA: /ɛˈfiːb/

13

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An 18- to 20-year-old man in ancient Greece undergoing military training.

noun

A young man; a youth.

Example Sentences

"His glance touched their faces lightly as he smiled, a blond ephebe. Tame essence of [Oscar] Wilde."
"Indeed Tom was much still the ephebe, sharing boys with his friend though talking of the gravity of marriage."

Etymology

Via Latin ephēbus, from Ancient Greek ἔφηβος (éphēbos, “adolescent”), from ἐπί (epí, “early”) + ἥβη (hḗbē, “manhood”), late 19th c.

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Prefix: ἐπί
Root: ephēbus, ἔφηβος
Suffix: ἥβη

Inflected Forms

ephebes (plural)

Derived Forms

ephebic ephebophilia ephebosexuality

Frequently Paired Words

ephebos ephebus

Rhymes With

glebe dweeb beeb grebe hebe shibe plebe seeb heeb reeb feeb keeb

Questions

How do you pronounce ephebe?: The recorded pronunciation is /ɛˈfiːb/.
What does ephebe mean?: An 18- to 20-year-old man in ancient Greece undergoing military training.
Where does ephebe come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce ephebe

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