Added 9 October 2026
seldom
/ˈsɛldəm/ adverb
In Latin: rārē, rārenter, rārō Wiktionary
adverb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about seldom at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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Infrequently, rarely.
They seldom come here now.
adjective
Origin
From late Middle English seldom, alteration of earlier selden by analogy with adverbial datives such as whilom, from Old English seldan (“seldom”), from Proto-West Germanic *seldanā, from Proto-Germanic *seldanē. Cognate with Saterland Frisian säilden (“seldom”), West Frisian selden, komselden (“rare, seldom”), Dutch zelden, German selten, Danish sjælden, Norwegian Bokmål sjelden, Norwegian Nynorsk sjeldan, Swedish sällan, Faroese sjáldan, Icelandic sjaldan. More at seld and selly.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)