Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

wagtail

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.02 in modern English

Syllables
wag-tail
IPA
11
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of various small passerine birds, principally of genus Motacilla, of the Old World, notable for their long tails.

noun

Ellipsis of wagtail platy.

Etymology

From a partial suppletion of Middle English wagstert (literally “wag-tail”), equivalent to wag + tail.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Inflected Forms

wagtails (plural)

Phrases

wagtail-tyrant

Frequently Paired Words

oriole

Questions

What does wagtail mean?
Any of various small passerine birds, principally of genus Motacilla, of the Old World, notable for their long tails.
Where does wagtail come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce wagtail

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