ayahuasca

/ˌaɪəˈwɑːskə/

//ˌaɪəˈwɑːskə// noun

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

"ayahuasca" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ayahuasca” is uncommon English (frequency #54,027 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#54,027
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A giant vine native to South America (especially Banisteriopsis caapi), noted for its psychotropic properties.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ayahuasca · ayahuasca · English

ayahuasca · rank #54,027 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #54,027
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH autocrat

Nearest frequency peer: autocrat (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “ayahuasca”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “ayahuasca” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for ayahuasca
PropertyValue
Headwordayahuasca
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌaɪəˈwɑːskə/
Letters9
Frequency rank#54,027
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “ayahuasca” in English

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).ayahuascafalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “autocrat” (#54,026), “Azeri” (#54,028), “Azusa” (#54,029). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “ayahuasca” is #54,027. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

ayahuasca is uncommon English at frequency #54,027 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌaɪəˈwɑːskə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for ayahuasca in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Spanish ayahuasca, from Quechua ayawaska, from aya (“spirit, ancestor”) + waska (“vine”). First use appears c. 1870. See cite below. The correct English form is ayahuasca, spelled A-Y-A-H-U-A-S-C-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A giant vine native to South America (especially Banisteriopsis caapi), noted for its psychotropic properties.
  2. 2
    Any of various psychoactive infusions or decoctions prepared from this vine.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. They make use of a narcotic drink called Ayahuasca, which produces effects similar to those of opium.
  2. As the Amazon forest people would take ayahuasca and enter into that place of Group Mind where they would make decisions for the tribe, the psychedelic shamanic acts that McKenna was promulgating would involve the experience of ecstasy and the contemplation of wholeness.

Etymology

From Spanish ayahuasca, from Quechua ayawaska, from aya (“spirit, ancestor”) + waska (“vine”). First use appears c. 1870. See cite below.

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 "ayahuasca"?
"ayahuasca" is spelled A-Y-A-H-U-A-S-C-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌaɪəˈwɑːskə/.
What does "ayahuasca" mean?
As a noun, "ayahuasca" means: A giant vine native to South America (especially Banisteriopsis caapi), noted for its psychotropic properties.
How do you pronounce "ayahuasca"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ayahuasca" is /ˌaɪəˈwɑːskə/. 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 "ayahuasca"?
From Spanish ayahuasca, from Quechua ayawaska, from aya (“spirit, ancestor”) + waska (“vine”). First use appears c. 1870. See cite below. 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 "ayahuasca", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

backlight#54,030atheistic#54,022Bayswater#54,035Beaverton#54,038

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list