alder

/ˈɔːldə/

//ˈɔːldə// noun

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

"alder" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“alder” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #29,902) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#29,902
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of several trees or shrubs of the genus Alnus, belonging to the birch family.

Corpus desk

Index EN-alder · alder · English

alder · rank #29,902 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #29,902
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH allowable

Nearest frequency peer: allowable (+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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “alder”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “alder” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

alder vs ale
60% similar
alder vs Alex
40% similar
alder vs Alec
40% similar

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

Key facts for alder
PropertyValue
Headwordalder
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɔːldə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#29,902
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “alder”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).alderlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “allowable” (#29,903), “acton” (#29,900), “AmE” (#29,904). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “alder” is #29,902. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for alder is neighbouring look-alikes ("ale", "Alex", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ˈɔːldə/. Frequency #29,902 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Gloss: "Any of several trees or shrubs of the genus Alnus, belonging to the birch family.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for alder, with forms such as "alderr", "aldre", and "aledr". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ale", "Alex", "Alec", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English aldre, alder, aller, from Old English alor, from Proto-West Germanic *aluʀu, from Proto-Germanic *aluz, *alusō, *alizō, *alisō. The correct English form is alder, spelled A-L-D-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of several trees or shrubs of the genus Alnus, belonging to the birch family.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I’ve known ere now an interfering branch / Of alder catch my lifted axe behind me. / But that was in the woods, to hold my hand / From striking at another alder’s roots, / And that was, as I say, an alder branch.
  2. Have a tree or two the witches particularly like, such as the alder, larch, cypress and hemlock; then, to counteract any possible evil effects, there must be a holly, yew, hazel, elder, mountain ash or juniper.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English aldre, alder, aller, from Old English alor, from Proto-West Germanic *aluʀu, from Proto-Germanic *aluz, *alusō, *alizō, *alisō.

This word in other languages

aliso(Español)aulne(Français)Erle(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • alderr
  • aldre
  • aledr
  • allder

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of alder - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

alderr1aldre2aledr2allder1
Edit distance from "alder"

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 "alder"?
"alder" is spelled A-L-D-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɔːldə/.
What does "alder" mean?
As a noun, "alder" means: Any of several trees or shrubs of the genus Alnus, belonging to the birch family.
What words are commonly confused with "alder"?
"alder" is commonly confused with "ale", "Alex", "Alec". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "alder"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "alder" is /ˈɔːldə/. 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 "alder"?
Inherited from Middle English aldre, alder, aller, from Old English alor, from Proto-West Germanic *aluʀu, from Proto-Germanic *aluz, *alusō, *alizō, *alisō. 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 "alder", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

acton#29,900volta#29,885visor#29,884vinny#29,883

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list