sporadic
/spəˈædɪk/spur-A-dik
/spɚˈædɪk/spur-A-dik
Meaningscattered like seed
Common meaning: occurring here and there
- sporto sow; seedLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 1414 · scan
- adicGreek adjective ending
Journey through time
- Greekσπείρω; σπέρμα‘to sow’
- Englishsporadic‘occurring here and there’ · today
spor also in: sperm
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Greek σπείρω; σπέρμα ‘to sow; seed’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), entry σπείρω, p. 1414 · dictionary scan
Roots
- σπείρω; σπέρμα Greek “to sow; seed”
Related words
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app