Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tumulus

/ˈtuːmjələs/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.97 in modern English

Syllables: tu-mu-lus
IPA: /ˈtuːmjələs/

9

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

3

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A mound of earth, especially one placed over a prehistoric tomb; a barrow.

Example Sentences

"They planted the cannon on the tumuli, sole elevations in this level country, and formed themselves into column and hollow square."
"Near Smeinogorsk an octagonal tumulus has been found containing the corpse of a horse near a rectangular one with a human corpse, both within stone circles."
"The delicate white body will be covered to-day, The tumulus be reared, the green sod give way: And there, oh Cynvarch, thy son they will lay."
"The tumulus is one of mankind's oldest burial monuments, dating back to 4,000 to 5,000 years B.C. […] Examples of tumuli can be seen peppering the landscape all over Western Europe."

Etymology

From Latin tumulus (“mound, hill”), from tumeō (“to swell”). Doublet of tombolo.

Word Breakdown

Root: *tewh₂-

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈtuːmjələs/
British English: /ˈtjuːmjələs/

Inflected Forms

tumuli (plural)

Derived Forms

tumulous

Phrases

Tumulus culture

Synonyms

burial mound § Synonyms burial mound grave mound barrow

Questions

How do you pronounce tumulus?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈtuːmjələs/.
What does tumulus mean?: A mound of earth, especially one placed over a prehistoric tomb; a barrow.
Where does tumulus come from?: From Latin tumulus (“mound, hill”), from tumeō (“to swell”). Doublet of tombolo.

How to pronounce tumulus

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “tumulus”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈtuːmjələs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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