Frequency is the rate at which something occurs or is repeated per unit of time. In science, signal processing, and everyday speech, it also refers to the pitch of a sound, measured in hertz. The term can describe data patterns, natural phenomena, or the commonness of events within a given period.
"The frequency of thunderstorms in this region has increased over the past decade."
"In digital audio, frequency determines the perceived pitch of the note."
"Radio engineers analyze the frequency spectrum to identify signals and noise."
"My doctor asked about the frequency of headaches to assess potential triggers."
Frequency comes from the Latin word frequentia, from frequens, meaning crowded or frequent. The root frequ- conveys the sense of doing something often. In English, frequency was adopted in the 17th century to describe repeated events in time and later extended to physics to denote the number of cycles per second. The scientific sense solidified in the 19th and 20th centuries with the rise of wave theory, acoustics, and radio communication, where frequency becomes a fundamental descriptor of periodic phenomena. First known uses appear in Latin technical writings about frequency of motion and repetition, evolving through Latin to early modern scientific language in European scholars. The modern concept integrates mathematics, engineering, and statistics to quantify how often states, events, or signals occur within a given interval, typically per second (hertz) or per unit time. The word has since permeated fields from linguistics to sociology to marketing, where “frequency” can describe exposure and repetition effects.
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Words that rhyme with "Frequency"
-ncy sounds
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Pronunciation is FRE-quən-see with primary stress on the first syllable: /ˈfriː.kwən.si/ (US/UK/AU share the same stress). Think: long E in ‘free,’ quick lips for the first syllable, and a light schwa in the second. The final syllable uses a clear /si/ rather than /siː/ in many fast speech contexts. For quick articulation, center the tongue for the /i/ and keep the /kw/ cluster tight without adding an extra vowel between /friː/ and /kwən/.
Common errors: misplacing the stress or reducing the second syllable; pronouncing it as fre-quen-see with an offbeat /ɪ/ or /ɪən/; or conflating /rq/ with a simple /r/ sound. Correction: keep primary stress on the first syllable /ˈfriː.kwən.si/, use a clear /kw/ as in quick, and emit a short, unstressed /ə/ in the second syllable before /si/. Practice together: /ˈfriː.kwən.si/ with equal syllable timing to avoid rushing the final /si/.
Across US/UK/AU, the word maintains primary stress on the first syllable, but vowel qualities vary: US often lengthens the /iː/ as in ‘free’; UK may show a slightly shorter /iː/ and crisper final /si/; AU tends toward a centralized vowel quality in rapid speech, but the phonemes remain the same. Rhoticity is not a dominant factor here, but subtle tendencies in vowel length and intonation can shift perception of prominence. Overall, /ˈfriː.kwən.si/ stays stable, with minor vowel coloring differences by region.
The difficulty comes from the /ˈfriː/ onset with a tense high front vowel followed by the /kw/ cluster, and the unstressed /ən/ in the middle syllable, which can destabilize rhythm if the schwa is overemphasized. The final /si/ can slide toward /siː/ or /si/ depending on tempo. Mastery requires precise control of vowel length, consonant cluster timing, and maintaining even syllable rhythm even when speaking quickly.
How should you handle the /kw/ cluster when transitioning from the stressed /friː/ to the unstressed /ən/ and then to /si/? The key is a tight, quickly articulated /kw/ without inserting extra vowels. You’ll position the tongue for /k/ then glide into /w/ smoothly while keeping the jaw relatively closed, then shift to a relaxed /ən/ before the /si/ with a clear, crisp /s/ and /i/ to prevent a dull trailing sound. IPA guidance: /ˈfriː.kwən.si/.
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