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amma

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

4 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "amma", 4-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "amma" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "amma" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

amma is aEnglishnoun. It means: mother Pronounced /ˈʌmə/. Often confused with arm and Amy.

Key facts for amma
PropertyValue
Headwordamma
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈʌmə/
Letters4
Frequency rank#37,316
Misspellings tracked1
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of amma in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for amma is 4 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈʌmə/. Corpus data places it at rank #37,316 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "mother".

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 1 documented wrong-spelling variant for amma, including "amam". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "arm", "Amy", "ana", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Related to Tamil அம்மா (ammā, “mother”), Hindi अम्मा (ammā), Malayalam അമ്മ (amma), Kannada ಅಮ್ಮ (amma, “mother”) Telugu అమ్మ (amma, “mother”), Sinhalese අම්මා (ammā, “mother”), or Classical Syriac ܐܡܐ (emma, “mother”). Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is amma, spelled A-M-M-A, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    mother

Etymology

Related to Tamil அம்மா (ammā, “mother”), Hindi अम्मा (ammā), Malayalam അമ്മ (amma), Kannada ಅಮ್ಮ (amma, “mother”) Telugu అమ్మ (amma, “mother”), Sinhalese අම්මා (ammā, “mother”), or Classical Syriac ܐܡܐ (emma, “mother”).

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: amam

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for amma

Misspelling Variants of "amma"

amam4
Misspelling Variants of "amma"

Frequency rank: #37,316 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "amma"?
"amma" is spelled A-M-M-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʌmə/.
What does "amma" mean?
As a noun, "amma" means: mother
What words are commonly confused with "amma"?
"amma" is commonly confused with "arm", "Amy", "ana". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "amma"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "amma" is /ˈʌmə/. 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 "amma"?
Related to Tamil அம்மா (ammā, “mother”), Hindi अम्मा (ammā), Malayalam അമ്മ (amma), Kannada ಅಮ್ಮ (amma, “mother”) Telugu అమ్మ (amma, “mother”), Sinhalese අම්මා (ammā, “mother”), or Classical Syriac ܐܡܐ (emma, “mother”). 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter A in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.