Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

kieselguhr

/ˈkiːzəlɡʊə/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: kiesel-guhr
IPA: /ˈkiːzəlɡʊə/

18

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

2

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Diatomaceous earth, a kind of soft rock containing the remains of diatoms; it absorbs nitroglycerine and is used to manufacture dynamite.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"It was the only name anybody seemed to know him by, “Kieselguhr” being a kind of fine clay, used to soak up nitroglycerine and stabilize it into dynamite."

Etymology

Borrowed from German Kieselguhr, older spelling of Kieselgur, from Kiesel (“pebble, gravel”) + Gur (“guhr”).

Regional Pronunciation

British English: /ˈkiːzəlɡʊə/

Usage

Inflected Forms

kieselguhrs (plural)

Synonyms

diatomaceous earth diatomite

Questions

How do you pronounce kieselguhr?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkiːzəlɡʊə/.
What does kieselguhr mean?: Diatomaceous earth, a kind of soft rock containing the remains of diatoms; it absorbs nitroglycerine and is used to manufacture dynamite.
Where does kieselguhr come from?: Borrowed from German Kieselguhr, older spelling of Kieselgur, from Kiesel (“pebble, gravel”) + Gur (“guhr”).

How to pronounce kieselguhr

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