Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

kirtle

/ˈkɚt(ə)l/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.31 in modern English

Syllables
kir-tle
IPA
/ˈkɚt(ə)l/
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A knee-length tunic.

noun

A short jacket.

noun

A woman's gown; a woman's outer petticoat or skirt.

verb

To clothe or cover with, or as if with, a kirtle; to hitch up (a long garment) to the length of a kirtle.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English kirtel, from Old English cyrtel, cognate with Old Norse kyrtill (“tunic”) (whence Icelandic kyrtill, Danish kjortel (“gown, tunic”), Swedish kjortel (“petticoat, skirt”)), from Old Norse *kurtil-, supposedly a diminutive of *kurt-, from Latin curtus (“short, shortened”). Compare German Kittel.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: kirtel, cyrtel, *kurtil-, curtus

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈkɚt(ə)l/
  • British English: /ˈkəːt(ə)l/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Phrases

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce kirtle?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkɚt(ə)l/.
What does kirtle mean?
A knee-length tunic.
Where does kirtle come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce kirtle

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