Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

permafrost

/ˈpɝməˌfɹɔst/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.79 in modern English

Syllables: per-mafrost
IPA: /ˈpɝməˌfɹɔst/

17

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

2

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Permanently frozen ground, or a specific layer thereof.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"Nevertheless, the water molecule is present, as ice, in a solid form in frozen soils or permafrosts, which cover large regions characterised by a polar climate."
"In agreement with our overall trends within the permafrost samples, lower nirK and nirS and higher nosZ diversity have been identified in cryoturbated peat vs. unturbated peat soils (Palmer and Horn, 2012)."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per-der. Proto-Italic *peri- Latin per- Proto-Indo-European *men- Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁yeti Proto-Indo-European *m̥néh₁yeti Proto-Italic *m(V)nēō Latin maneō Latin permaneōlbor. Middle French permanentbor. English permanentclip. English perma- Proto-Indo-European *prews- Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *prustós Proto-Germanic *frustaz Proto-West Germanic *frost Old English frost Middle English frost English frost English permafrost From perma- + frost.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈpɝməˌfɹɔst/
British English: /ˈpɜːməˌfɹɔst/

Usage

Inflected Forms

permafrosts (plural)

Derived Forms

permafrosted permafrosty subpermafrost

Frequently Paired Words

cryogenesis

Questions

How do you pronounce permafrost?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpɝməˌfɹɔst/.
What does permafrost mean?: Permanently frozen ground, or a specific layer thereof.
Where does permafrost come from?: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per-der. Proto-Italic *peri- Latin per- Proto-Indo-European *men- Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁yeti Proto-Indo-European *m̥néh₁yeti Proto-Italic *m(V)nēō Latin maneō Latin permaneōlbor. Middle French permanentbor. English permanentclip. English perma- Proto-Indo-European *prews- Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *prustós Proto-Germanic *frustaz Proto-West Germanic *frost Old English frost Middle English frost English frost English permafrost From perma- + frost.

How to pronounce permafrost

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