Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

scytale

/ˈsɪtəliː/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables
scy-tale
IPA
/ˈsɪtəliː/
12
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A cylinder with a strip of parchment wound around it on which a message is written, used for cryptography by the ancient Spartans.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Latin scytale (“cylinder used for encoding and decoding”), from Ancient Greek σκυτάλη (skutálē, “club, baton, cylinder used for encoding and decoding”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: scytale, σκυτάλη

Inflected Forms

Frequently Paired Words

Questions

How do you pronounce scytale?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈsɪtəliː/.
What does scytale mean?
A cylinder with a strip of parchment wound around it on which a message is written, used for cryptography by the ancient Spartans.
Where does scytale come from?
It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce scytale

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