Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

haltere

/ˈhæltɪɹ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables
hal-tere
IPA
/ˈhæltɪɹ/
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A small knobbed structure in some two-winged insects, one of a pair that are flapped rapidly and function as accelerometers to maintain stability in flight.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἁλτῆρες (haltêres, “weights held in the hand to give an impetus in leaping”). Note that in the original Greek, there seems to have been no singular for ἁλτῆρες (haltêres), and some authorities maintain that halteres is a plurale tantum, but in English entomological usage, haltere sometimes appears as a back-formation. Sometimes the singular halter is used instead, but this may lead to confusion with other, unrelated meanings of halter.

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈhæltɪɹ/
  • British English: /ˈhæltɪə/

Inflected Forms

halteres (plural) halter (alternative)

Derived Forms

pseudohaltere

Synonyms

halter balancer

Questions

How do you pronounce haltere?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈhæltɪɹ/.
What does haltere mean?
A small knobbed structure in some two-winged insects, one of a pair that are flapped rapidly and function as accelerometers to maintain stability in flight.
Where does haltere come from?
From Ancient Greek ἁλτῆρες (haltêres, “weights held in the hand to give an impetus in leaping”). Note that in the original Greek, there seems to have been no singular for ἁλτῆρες (haltêres), and some authorities maintain that halteres is a plurale tantum, but in English entomological usage, haltere sometimes appears as a back-formation. Sometimes the singular halter is used instead, but this may lead to confusion with other, unrelated meanings of halter.

How to pronounce haltere

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