acolyte

/ˈæk.ə.laɪt/

//ˈæk.ə.laɪt// noun

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

"acolyte" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“acolyte” is uncommon English (frequency #58,491 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#58,491
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One who has received the highest of the four minor orders in the Catholic Church, being ordained to carry the wine, water and lights at Mass.

Corpus desk

Index EN-acolyte · acolyte · English

acolyte · rank #58,491 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #58,491
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH ached

Nearest frequency peer: ached (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

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.

Long-tail ranks near “acolyte”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “acolyte” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for acolyte
PropertyValue
Headwordacolyte
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈæk.ə.laɪt/
Letters7
Frequency rank#58,491
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “acolyte” in English

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “ached” (#58,490), “Adela” (#58,492), “adorably” (#58,493). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “acolyte” is #58,491. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

acolyte is uncommon English at frequency #58,491 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈæk.ə.laɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for acolyte in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English acolite, acolit, from Old French acolyt and Late Latin acolythus, from Ancient Greek ἀκόλουθος (akólouthos, “follower, attendant”). The correct English form is acolyte, spelled A-C-O-L-Y-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    One who has received the highest of the four minor orders in the Catholic Church, being ordained to carry the wine, water and lights at Mass.
  2. 2
    An altar server.
  3. 3
    An attendant, assistant, or follower.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The kneeling acolyte chimed a sacring-bell, and the congregation bent and swayed like a wheat-field swept scross by sudden wind.
  2. “Apparently, one of Milius's acolytes spends a lot of time at the top of that huge, dangerous mountain. Better get climbing.” “(groans) Oh.”

Etymology

From Middle English acolite, acolit, from Old French acolyt and Late Latin acolythus, from Ancient Greek ἀκόλουθος (akólouthos, “follower, attendant”).

Synonyms

sidekick

This word in other languages

acólito(Español)acolyte(Français)Akolyth(Deutsch)acólito(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 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "acolyte"?
"acolyte" is spelled A-C-O-L-Y-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæk.ə.laɪt/.
What does "acolyte" mean?
As a noun, "acolyte" means: One who has received the highest of the four minor orders in the Catholic Church, being ordained to carry the wine, water and lights at Mass.
How do you pronounce "acolyte"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "acolyte" is /ˈæk.ə.laɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "acolyte"?
From Middle English acolite, acolit, from Old French acolyt and Late Latin acolythus, from Ancient Greek ἀκόλουθος (akólouthos, “follower, attendant”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
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 English words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

airfoil#58,495worsted#58,463wincing#58,460Barbuda#58,536

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list