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apostolic

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

Detailed reference entry for the English word "apostolic", 9-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Wiktionary, and usage frequency ranked against an open word-frequency list covering the top 100,000 English words. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "apostolic" 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 "apostolic" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

The verdict

“apostolic” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #21,995 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#21,995
frequency rank, English
9
letters
13
tracked misspellings

Dominant Wiktionary sense: Pertaining to apostles or their practice or teaching; pertaining to the apostles (of early Christianity) or their teachings.

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Key facts for apostolic
PropertyValue
Headwordapostolic
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌæp.əˈstɒl.ɪk/
Letters9
Frequency rank#21,995
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “apostolic” sits in English 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). apostolic lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for apostolic is 9 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌæp.əˈstɒl.ɪk/. Corpus data places it at rank #21,995 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for apostolic, with forms such as "aopstolic", "aposotlic", and "aposstolic". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Latin apostolicus (“apostolic”), from Ancient Greek ἀποστολικός (apostolikós, “apostolic”). 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 apostolic, spelled A-P-O-S-T-O-L-I-C, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Pertaining to apostles or their practice or teaching; pertaining to the apostles (of early Christianity) or their teachings.
  2. 2
    According to the doctrines of the apostles; delivered or taught by the apostles.
  3. 3
    Of or pertaining to the pope or the papacy; papal.
  4. 4
    Of or pertaining to the Catholic missions.

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin apostolicus (“apostolic”), from Ancient Greek ἀποστολικός (apostolikós, “apostolic”).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: aopstolic,aposotlic,aposstolic,apostloic,apostoilc,apostolci,apostolicc,apostollic,aposttolic,apotsolic,appostolic,apsotolic,paostolic

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

Edit distance from "apostolic"

aopstolic2aposotlic2aposstolic1apostloic2apostoilc2apostolci2apostolicc1apostollic1
Edit distance from "apostolic"

Frequency rank: #21,995 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "apostolic"?
"apostolic" is spelled A-P-O-S-T-O-L-I-C. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌæp.əˈstɒl.ɪk/.
What does "apostolic" mean?
As an adjective, "apostolic" means: Pertaining to apostles or their practice or teaching; pertaining to the apostles (of early Christianity) or their teachings.
What are common misspellings of "apostolic"?
Common misspellings include "aopstolic", "aposotlic", "aposstolic", "apostloic", "apostoilc". The correct spelling is "apostolic".
How do you pronounce "apostolic"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "apostolic" is /ˌæp.əˈstɒl.ɪk/. 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 "apostolic"?
Learned borrowing from Latin apostolicus (“apostolic”), from Ancient Greek ἀποστολικός (apostolikós, “apostolic”). 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.

Using “apostolic”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is A-P-O-S-T-O-L-I-C — every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˌæp.əˈstɒl.ɪk/ (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

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. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.