distal

[dɪsˈtaːl]

/[dɪsˈtaːl]/ adj

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

The verdict

“distal” is uncommon German (frequency #99,666 among 2,764 “D” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#99,666
frequency rank, German
2,764
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - vom Körperzentrum entfernt (nicht von der Mittellinie entfernt: siehe lateral)

Corpus desk

Index DE-distal · distal · German

distal · rank #99,666 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #99,666
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,764
  • PHOTO-FINISH Dissoziation

Nearest frequency peer: Dissoziation (-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.

Langschwanz-Ränge nahe „distal“

Dünnes Band: Balken invertieren den Rang, seltenere Formen wirken kürzer

corpus weight

What this shows Langschwanz-Sicht: wo „distal“ gegen ähnlich seltene deutsche Ränge sitzt.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for distal
PropertyValue
Headworddistal
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[dɪsˈtaːl]
Letters6
Frequency rank#99,666
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „distal“ im Deutschen

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.distalfällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „Dissoziation“ (#99,665), „Dixieland“ (#99,667), „Dioxin“ (#99,664). Unter 2,764 „D“-Lemmata liegt „distal“ bei #99,666. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

distal is uncommon German at frequency #99,666 among 2,764 “D” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed [dɪsˈtaːl]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

distal doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is distal, spelled D-I-S-T-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    vom Körperzentrum entfernt (nicht von der Mittellinie entfernt: siehe lateral)
  2. 2
    zum Ende des Zahnbogens hin
  3. 3
    Flächenangabe für eine der fünf Zahnflächen: diejenige Zahnfläche eines Zahnes, die sich Richtung des benachbarten Zahnes, der von der Mitte des Zahnbogens weg gelegen ist, befindet
  4. 4
    sich in der Ferne befindend

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Der Nerv gibt distal einen Seitenast ab.
  2. PIP-proximales Interphalangealgelenk – der Zeigefinger hat 2 Gelenke: näher am Fingernagel ist das distale Interphalangealgelenk, weiter vom Fingernagel weg ist das proximale Gelenk.

Antonyms

proximalmesial

This word in other languages

distal(English)distal(Español)distal(Français)distal(Português)

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 "distal"?
"distal" is spelled D-I-S-T-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is [dɪsˈtaːl].
What does "distal" mean?
As an adjective, "distal" means: vom Körperzentrum entfernt (nicht von der Mittellinie entfernt: siehe lateral)
How do you pronounce "distal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "distal" is [dɪsˈtaːl]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "distal" come from?
"distal" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "distal", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Dioxin#99,664Dohlen#99,670define#99,654Brokat#99,598

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list