autem

noun

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

The verdict

“autem” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A church.

Corpus desk

Index EN-autem · autem · English

autem · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "A" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for autem
PropertyValue
Headwordautem
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters5
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “autem” in English

autemfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

autem is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A church.".

autem has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: UK 16th century. Possibly borrowed from Yiddish אַ (a, “indefinite article”) + טומאה (tume, “church (derogatory); forbidden; impure”). The correct English form is autem, spelled A-U-T-E-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    A church.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. THESE Autem Mortes be maried wemen, as there be but a fewe: For Autem in their language is a Church, so shee is a wyfe maried at the church, and they be as chaste as a cowe: I haue yt gooeth to bull euery moone, with what bull she careth not.
  2. As ſoone as euer the pꝛoclamation was ended, Loꝛd, what a Companie of petitioners pꝛeſſed to the barre to pꝛeferre their papers of iniuries, that were offred and done among themſelues, here one complaines that hee could not trauell ſafely, noꝛ cary any money without danger of the vpꝛight man and Tinker, but that they would robbe and ſpoyle them of all tha…

Etymology

UK 16th century. Possibly borrowed from Yiddish אַ (a, “indefinite article”) + טומאה (tume, “church (derogatory); forbidden; impure”).

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

How do you spell "autem"?
"autem" is spelled A-U-T-E-M.
What does "autem" mean?
As a noun, "autem" means: A church.
What is the origin of the word "autem"?
UK 16th century. Possibly borrowed from Yiddish אַ (a, “indefinite article”) + טומאה (tume, “church (derogatory); forbidden; impure”). 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list