alma mater
/ˌælmə ˈmeɪtə(ɹ)/
"alma-mater" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“alma mater” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A school, college, or university which a person has graduated from or attended.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | alma mater |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌælmə ˈmeɪtə(ɹ)/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “alma mater” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for alma mater is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌælmə ˈmeɪtə(ɹ)/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for alma mater, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin alma māter (literally “nourishing mother”). Derives from the full name ("Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna") of the oldest European university, the University of Bologna, founded in 1088. The correct English form is alma mater, spelled A-L-M-A- -M-A-T-E-R.
Definition
- 1A school, college, or university which a person has graduated from or attended.
- 2A school’s anthem or song.
Etymology
From Latin alma māter (literally “nourishing mother”). Derives from the full name ("Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna") of the oldest European university, the University of Bologna, founded in 1088.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “alma mater”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-L-M-A- -M-A-T-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌælmə ˈmeɪtə(ɹ)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.