Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

gulliver

/ˈɡʌlɪvə(ɹ)/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.72 in modern English

Syllables: gul-liv-er
IPA: /ˈɡʌlɪvə(ɹ)/

12

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Slang

name

Countable; Uncountable

name

The main character in the novel Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift.

Countable; Uncountable

name

A suburb of the City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia.

Countable; Uncountable

Etymology

From Russian голова́ (golová, “head; mind, brains”). Probably initially popularized by the Russian-influenced argot spoken by characters in the 1962 novel A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. Spelling influenced by Gulliver.

Origin

Source language: Russian

Word Breakdown

Root: голова́, -, goulafre

Usage

Inflected Forms

gullivers (plural) Gulliford (alternative)

Derived Forms

Gulliverian

Questions

How do you pronounce gulliver?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɡʌlɪvə(ɹ)/.
What does gulliver mean?: one's head.
Where does gulliver come from?: It is traced to Russian.

How to pronounce gulliver

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