Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

vespers

/ˈvɛspɝz/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.44 in modern English

Syllables
ves-pers
IPA
/ˈvɛspɝz/
12
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The sixth of the seven canonical hours, an evening prayer service

Uncountable

noun

A massacre

Uncountable

noun

plural of vesper

name

A Christian service held in the late afternoon or early evening; evensong

Etymology

From Middle English vespers, from Old French vespres (French vêpres), from Ecclesiastical Latin vesperae (“vespers”), substantivisation of relational Late Latin vesperus (“evening”), from vesper (“evening”) + -us. Euphemistic use first as Vèpres éphésiennes (“Ephesian Vespers”), coined in 1890 by historian Théodore Reinach by analogy with the Sicilian Vespers.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: vespers, vespres, vesperae, vesperus

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈvɛspɝz/

Usage

Phrases

Sicilian Vespers Asiatic Vespers

Frequently Paired Words

evensong smokefall

Synonyms

evensong

Questions

How do you pronounce vespers?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈvɛspɝz/.
What does vespers mean?
The sixth of the seven canonical hours, an evening prayer service
Where does vespers come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce vespers

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