Altertum

[ˈaltɐtuːm]

/[ˈaltɐtuːm]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“Altertum” has 12 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #31,419. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#31,419
frequency rank, German
6,976
“A” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Epoche der Geschichtsschreibung in Eurasien, die mit der Erfindung der Schrift einsetzt und im 1. Jahrtausend nach Christus endet

Corpus desk

Index DE-altertum · Altertum · German

Altertum · rank #31,419 · 12 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #31,419
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,976
  • PHOTO-FINISH allzeit

Nearest frequency peer: allzeit (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „Altertum“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „Altertum“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Altertum vs altert
63% similar
Altertum vs albertus
63% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Altertum
PropertyValue
HeadwordAltertum
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈaltɐtuːm]
Letters8
Frequency rank#31,419
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „Altertum“

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.Altertumliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „allzeit“ (#31,418), „Absätzen“ (#31,416), „angeeignet“ (#31,422). Unter 6,976 „A“-Lemmata liegt „Altertum“ bei #31,419. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around Altertum (IPA [ˈaltɐtuːm]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #31,419 among 6,976 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for Altertum, with forms such as "aletrtum", "alltertum", and "alterrtum". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "altert", "albertus", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is Altertum, spelled A-L-T-E-R-T-U-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    Epoche der Geschichtsschreibung in Eurasien, die mit der Erfindung der Schrift einsetzt und im 1. Jahrtausend nach Christus endet
  2. 2
    ein aus alten Zeiten stammender Gegenstand

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Altertum appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Zu Beginn des Altertums entwickelten sich die ersten Hochkulturen.
  2. „Die Polizei des Altertums ist durch die Wachsfiguren eines Caesaren und zweier Liktoren und durch einige Fascesbündel dargestellt, was herzlich albern ist, wenn es nicht eine Huldigung für die modernen Faschisten bedeuten soll.“

This word in other languages

antiquity(English)antigüedad(Español)Antiquité(Français)antiguidade(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aletrtum
  • alltertum
  • alterrtum
  • altertmu
  • alterttum
  • altertumm
  • alterutm
  • altetrum
  • altretum
  • alttertum
  • atlertum
  • latertum

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Altertum - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

aletrtum2alltertum1alterrtum1altertmu2alterttum1altertumm1alterutm2altetrum2
Edit distance from "Altertum"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Altertum"?
"Altertum" is spelled A-L-T-E-R-T-U-M. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈaltɐtuːm].
What does "Altertum" mean?
As a noun, "Altertum" means: Epoche der Geschichtsschreibung in Eurasien, die mit der Erfindung der Schrift einsetzt und im 1. Jahrtausend nach Christus endet
What words are commonly confused with "Altertum"?
"Altertum" is commonly confused with "altert", "albertus". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Altertum"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Altertum" is [ˈaltɐtuːm]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Altertum" come from?
"Altertum" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Altertum", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Absätzen#31,416Ankläger#31,424abkaufen#31,412Aquarell#31,428

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

absehbare12 variantszuerkannt12 variantsBaurecht12 variantsbekehren12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list