SINCE 1828
hapax legomenon
noun
ha·pax le·go·me·non
| \ ˌha-ˌpaks-li-ˈgä-mə-ˌnän
, ˌhä-ˌpäks-, -nən\
, ˌhä-ˌpäks-, -nən\
plural hapax legomena\ ˌha-ˌpaks-li-ˈgä-mə-nə
, ˌhä-ˌpäks- \
, ˌhä-ˌpäks- \
Definition of hapax legomenon
: a word or form occurring only once in a document or corpus
Keep scrolling for more
Learn More about hapax legomenon
From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
10 Obscure Words That Are Somehow Real
10 Obscure Words That Are Somehow Real
For frog-tossing, sword dancing, & more
Dictionary Entries near hapax legomenon
Statistics for hapax legomenon
Look-up Popularity
Time Traveler for hapax legomenon
The first known use of hapax legomenon was in 1692
Comments on hapax legomenon
What made you want to look up hapax legomenon? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Words from Greek and Latin Quiz
-
- Which of the following months comes from a Latin word for “ten”?
Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Words at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
-
Words from Greek and Latin Quiz
Finally! A use for those SAT prep classes.
Take the quiz -
Name That Thing: Animal Edition
How many animals can you identify?
Take the quiz -
Name That Thing
Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!
Take the quiz -
Dictionary Devil
The dictionary has been scrambled—can you put it back together?
Play the game
Share hapax legomenon
Resources for hapax legomenon