Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

potsherd

/ˈpɑt.ʃəɹd/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.18 in modern English

Syllables
pot-sherd
IPA
/ˈpɑt.ʃəɹd/
14
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English pot-sherd, pot-schord, pot scherd, pot scarth, from Middle English pot, pote, potte (“a container, pot, vessel; especially an earthenware vessel”) (from late Old English pot, pott (“a pot”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *budn- (“a type of vessel”)) + Middle English sherd (“piece of fired clay or broken earthenware; potsherd”) (from Old English sceard (“a shard, sherd”), from Proto-Germanic *skardą (“a nick, notch”)); equivalent to pot + sherd (“shard”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈpɑt.ʃəɹd/
  • British English: /ˈpɒt.ʃɜːd/

Inflected Forms

Synonyms

Questions

How do you pronounce potsherd?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpɑt.ʃəɹd/.
What does potsherd mean?
A piece of ceramic from pottery, often found on an archaeological site.
Where does potsherd come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce potsherd

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