Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

sphex

/sfɛks/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: sphex
IPA: /sfɛks/

17

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of the sand wasps of Sphex and allied genera.

Etymology

Borrowed from translingual Sphex, from the Ancient Greek σφήξ (sphḗx, “wasp”), plural σφῆκες (sphêkes). The plural spheges is likely a borrowing from Latin Sphēgēs.

Origin

Source language: Ancient Greek

Word Breakdown

Root: Sphex, σφήξ, Sphēgēs

Inflected Forms

spheges (plural)

Derived Forms

sphexish antisphexish

Questions

How do you pronounce sphex?: The recorded pronunciation is /sfɛks/.
What does sphex mean?: Any of the sand wasps of Sphex and allied genera.
Where does sphex come from?: It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce sphex

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