ayahuasca
/ˌaɪəˈwɑːskə/
"ayahuasca" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ayahuasca” is an uncommon English word, ranked #54,027 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #54,027
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A giant vine native to South America (especially Banisteriopsis caapi), noted for its psychotropic properties.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ayahuasca |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌaɪəˈwɑːskə/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #54,027 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ayahuasca” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for ayahuasca is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌaɪəˈwɑːskə/. Corpus data places it at rank #54,027 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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
- 1A giant vine native to South America (especially Banisteriopsis caapi), noted for its psychotropic properties.
- 2Any of various psychoactive infusions or decoctions prepared from this vine.
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
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Using “ayahuasca”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-Y-A-H-U-A-S-C-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌaɪəˈwɑːskə/ (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.