Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

varangian

/vəˈɹæn.d͡ʒi.ən/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.55 in modern English

Syllables: Va-ran-gi-an
IPA: /vəˈɹæn.d͡ʒi.ən/

13

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

4

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A member of the ethnically Scandinavian people around the borders of Constantinople in the ninth and tenth centuries.

noun

A member of the imperial body guard at Constantinople from 955.

adj

Of or pertaining to the Varangians.

adj

Of or pertaining to the Varanger Peninsula in Norway.

adj

Pertaining to a period of intense glaciation during the late Proterozoic eon.

Example Sentences

"The Byzantines continued to recruit elite warriors from the north, not merely from Rus’ but directly from far-off Scandinavia; from the end of the tenth century, they referred to them as ‘Varangians’."

Etymology

Ultimately from Byzantine Greek Βάραγγος (Bárangos), from Medieval Latin Varingus, from Old Norse væringr, from várr (“pledge”) or værr (“pledge”), which is cognate with Old English wǣr (“fidelity, loyalty”), + Old Norse gangi (“companion”). Cognate with Old English wærgenga.

Origin

Source language: Old Norse

Word Breakdown

Root: Βάραγγος, Varingus, væringr

Inflected Forms

Varangians (plural)

Synonyms

Varyag

Questions

How do you pronounce varangian?: The recorded pronunciation is /vəˈɹæn.d͡ʒi.ən/.
What does varangian mean?: A member of the ethnically Scandinavian people around the borders of Constantinople in the ninth and tenth centuries.
Where does varangian come from?: It is traced to Old Norse.

How to pronounce varangian

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