Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

hackmatack

/hˈækmətˌæk/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables
hack-mat-ack
IPA
/hˈækmətˌæk/
27
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A larch, a tree of the species Larix laricina.

noun

A balsam poplar, a tree of the species Populus balsamifera.

Example Sentences

Etymology

Believed to derive from Abenaki, though no specific etymon has been found. The term is first attested in the 1760s–90s, when it was spelled hakmantak and referred to dense forest. In European languages there was contamination between tacamahac, from Nahuatl, and various Algonquian words containing the final Proto-Algonquian *-a·xkw- (“hardwood or deciduous tree”), including the sources of tamarack and hackmatack, as was already recognized by Chamberlain 1902. This makes the precise Algonquian words involved difficult to recover. Compare the late 19th century German Low German term Hackemtackem (“tacamahac (medicinal resin)”).

Word Breakdown

  • Root: -, *-a·xkw-

Inflected Forms

hackmatacks (plural)

Synonyms

tamarack American larch weeping hemlock black larch tamarak tacamahac balsam poplar populus balsamifera

Questions

How do you pronounce hackmatack?
The recorded pronunciation is /hˈækmətˌæk/.
What does hackmatack mean?
A larch, a tree of the species Larix laricina.
Where does hackmatack come from?
Believed to derive from Abenaki, though no specific etymon has been found. The term is first attested in the 1760s–90s, when it was spelled hakmantak and referred to dense forest. In European languages there was contamination between tacamahac, from Nahuatl, and various Algonquian words containing the final Proto-Algonquian *-a·xkw- (“hardwood or deciduous tree”), including the sources of tamarack and hackmatack, as was already recognized by Chamberlain 1902. This makes the precise Algonquian words involved difficult to recover. Compare the late 19th century German Low German term Hackemtackem (“tacamahac (medicinal resin)”).

How to pronounce hackmatack

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