Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

vespa

/vˈeɪspə/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.59 in modern English

Syllables: ves-pa
IPA: /vˈeɪspə/

10

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An Italian motor scooter.

name

A surname from Italian.

Example Sentences

"Her 40-year-old Vespa was waiting in the yard under a custom-made cover."
"In 1967, members of the traffic unit provide a funeral escort riding Vespa police model motor scooters. The Vespa scooter had the ability to cruise at speeds from 2 miles per hour to 65 miles per hour."
"2011, Terry A. Burgess, Smell the Devil's Breath, Uncommon Senses, Number 4, page 85, He grabbed the handlebars of the smallest Vespa near the end of the row and pulled the machine free of its slot."

Etymology

Trade name; borrowing from Italian Vespa, from vespa (“wasp”). Doublet of wasp.

Origin

Source language: Italian

Word Breakdown

Root: Vespa

Inflected Forms

Vespas (plural)

Derived Forms

vespoid

Questions

How do you pronounce vespa?: The recorded pronunciation is /vˈeɪspə/.
What does vespa mean?: An Italian motor scooter.
Where does vespa come from?: It is traced to Italian.

How to pronounce vespa

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