Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

troubadour

/ˈtrubəˌdɔr/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.54 in modern English

Syllables: trou-ba-dour
IPA: /ˈtrubəˌdɔr/

13

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An itinerant composer and performer of songs in medieval Europe; a jongleur or travelling minstrel.

Example Sentences

"Sitting in the courtroom ..., their laptops and tablets propped before them, power cables snaking through convoluted adapters, the Twitterati have sight of witnesses at all times – the troubadours, or perhaps the tricoteuses, of the digital revolution."
"“"Not a human, not yet a vampire," to paraphrase one of your contemporary musical troubadours.”"

Etymology

From Old Occitan trobar (“to find”) via Old French troubadour. Piecewise doublet of trouveur.

Origin

Source language: Old French

Word Breakdown

Root: trobar, troubadour

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈtrubəˌdɔr/
British English: /ˈtruːbəˌdɔː/

Inflected Forms

troubadours (plural)

Derived Forms

troubadourish troubadourism

Phrases

troubadour fiddle

Frequently Paired Words

trobairitz

Synonyms

folk singer jongleur minstrel poet-singer

Questions

How do you pronounce troubadour?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈtrubəˌdɔr/.
What does troubadour mean?: An itinerant composer and performer of songs in medieval Europe; a jongleur or travelling minstrel.
Where does troubadour come from?: It is traced to Old French.

How to pronounce troubadour

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