Elter

Name: Elter, German Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

[ˈɛltɐ]

/[ˈɛltɐ]/ noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“Elter” is uncommon German (frequency #80,296 among 57,060 “E” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#80,296
frequency rank, German: 57,060
“E” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - insbesondere bei sich ungeschlechtlich vermehrenden Lebewesen dasjenige Individuum, bei zwittrigen oder zweigeschlechtlichen eines der beiden Individuen, aus dem beziehungsweise denen das betrachte...

Key facts for Elter
Property	Value
Headword	Elter
Language	German
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	[ˈɛltɐ]
Letters	5
Frequency rank	#80,296
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Elter” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). Elter lands here:

#80,296

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Elter is uncommon German at frequency #80,296 among 57,060 “E” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈɛltɐ]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for Elter, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is Elter, spelled E-L-T-E-R.

Definition

1
insbesondere bei sich ungeschlechtlich vermehrenden Lebewesen dasjenige Individuum, bei zwittrigen oder zweigeschlechtlichen eines der beiden Individuen, aus dem beziehungsweise denen das betrachtete hervorgegangen ist
2
einzelner Mensch, der ein von ihm genetisch abstammendes Kind hat (biologische Elternschaft) und/oder der die soziale Fürsorgeverantwortung für ein Kind übernimmt (soziale Elternschaft)

Antonyms

Abkömmling Kind

This word in other languages

parent(English)parent(Français)

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 "Elter"?

"Elter" is spelled E-L-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈɛltɐ].

What does "Elter" mean?

As a noun, "Elter" means: insbesondere bei sich ungeschlechtlich vermehrenden Lebewesen dasjenige Individuum, bei zwittrigen oder zweigeschlechtlichen eines der beiden Individuen, aus dem beziehungsweise denen das betrachte...

How do you pronounce "Elter"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Elter" is [ˈɛltɐ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What language does "Elter" come from?

"Elter" 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.

Using “Elter”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct German spelling is E-L-T-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as [ˈɛltɐ] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words

Other uncommon German words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.