barmy

/ˈbɑːmi/

//ˈbɑːmi// adj

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

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

The verdict

“barmy” is uncommon English (frequency #64,908 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#64,908
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Containing, covered with, or pertaining to barm (“foam rising upon beer or other malt liquors when fermenting, used as leaven in brewing and making bread”).

Corpus desk

Index EN-barmy · barmy · English

barmy · rank #64,908 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #64,908
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH bardo

Nearest frequency peer: bardo (-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 “barmy”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for barmy
PropertyValue
Headwordbarmy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈbɑːmi/
Letters5
Frequency rank#64,908
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “barmy” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).barmyfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “bardo” (#64,907), “Basques” (#64,911), “bandanna” (#64,904). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “barmy” is #64,908. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

barmy is uncommon English at frequency #64,908 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈbɑːmi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for barmy in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From barm (“foam rising upon beer or other malt liquors when fermenting, and used as leaven”) + -y (suffix meaning ‘having the quality of’ forming adjectives). Barm is derived from Middle English berm, berme (“foam rising upon ale or beer fermenting; leaven… The correct English form is barmy, spelled B-A-R-M-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Containing, covered with, or pertaining to barm (“foam rising upon beer or other malt liquors when fermenting, used as leaven in brewing and making bread”).
  2. 2
    Bubbling with activity or excitement; active, excited.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. [T]each thy Incubus to Poëtize, / And throvve abroad thy ſpurious Snotteries, / Vpon that puft-vp Lumpe of Barmy froth, […]
  2. Their jovial Nights, in frollicks and in play / They paſs, to drive the tedious Hours avvay. / And their cold Stomachs vvith crovvn'd Goblets cheer, / Of vvindy Cider, and of barmy Beer.

Etymology

From barm (“foam rising upon beer or other malt liquors when fermenting, and used as leaven”) + -y (suffix meaning ‘having the quality of’ forming adjectives). Barm is derived from Middle English berm, berme (“foam rising upon ale or beer fermenting; leaven, yeast; foam or head of beer produced by pouring”) [and other forms], from Old English beorma (“foam or head of beer; leaven, yeast”), from Proto-West Germanic *bermō (“barm; yeast”); further etymology uncertain, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrewh₁- (“to boil; to brew”) or *gʷʰer- (“warm; hot”).

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 "barmy"?
"barmy" is spelled B-A-R-M-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɑːmi/.
What does "barmy" mean?
As an adjective, "barmy" means: Containing, covered with, or pertaining to barm (“foam rising upon beer or other malt liquors when fermenting, used as leaven in brewing and making bread”).
How do you pronounce "barmy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "barmy" is /ˈbɑːmi/. 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 "barmy"?
From barm (“foam rising upon beer or other malt liquors when fermenting, and used as leaven”) + -y (suffix meaning ‘having the quality of’ forming adjectives). Barm is derived from Middle English berm, berme (“foam rising upon ale or beer fermenti... 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 "barmy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

bardo#64,907Beane#64,915Biles#64,929Amiri#64,881

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list