Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

transylvania

/ˌtɹæn.səlˈveɪ.ni.ə/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.92 in modern English

Syllables
tran-syl-va-nia
IPA
/ˌtɹæn.səlˈveɪ.ni.ə/
18
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
5
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

name

A historical region in western Romania.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *terh₂-der. Proto-Indo-European *térh₂t Proto-Indo-European *-ónts Proto-Indo-European *tr̥h₂ónts Proto-Indo-European *tr̥h₂n̥ts Proto-Italic *trāns Proto-Italic *trāns- Latin trans- Proto-Indo-European *sel-der.? Latin silva Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Italic *-nos Proto-Italic *-ānos Latin -ānus Latin silvānus Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -ia ▲ Hungarian Erdeuelucalq. Medieval Latin Trānsylvānialbor. English Transylvania Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin Trānsylvānia, alternative spelling of Trānssilvānia, from trāns (“across”) + silvānus (“forest”, relational adjective) + -ia (abstract noun suffix), i.e. “region across the forest”, a calque of Hungarian Erdély, from erdő (“forest”) + elv/elü (“region beyond”). By surface analysis, tran- + sylvan + -ia.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Inflected Forms

Transsilvania (alternative) Transsylvania (alternative)

Derived Forms

Transylvanian

Phrases

Transylvania County -sylvania

Frequently Paired Words

Pennsylvania Pittsylvania Spotsylvania Sylvania -sylvania

Rhymes With

romania tanzania tasmania lithuania mania albania mauritania sylvania germania lusitania pomerania megalomania

Questions

How do you pronounce transylvania?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˌtɹæn.səlˈveɪ.ni.ə/.
What does transylvania mean?
A historical region in western Romania.
Where does transylvania come from?
It is traced to Hungarian.

How to pronounce transylvania

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