breviary

/ˈbɹɛv.ɪ.əɹ.i/

//ˈbɹɛv.ɪ.əɹ.i// noun

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

"breviary" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“breviary” is uncommon English (frequency #89,182 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#89,182
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A book containing prayers, hymns, and so on for everyday use at the canonical hours.

Corpus desk

Index EN-breviary · breviary · English

breviary · rank #89,182 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #89,182
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH brachytherapy

Nearest frequency peer: brachytherapy (-2 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 “breviary”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for breviary
PropertyValue
Headwordbreviary
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbɹɛv.ɪ.əɹ.i/
Letters8
Frequency rank#89,182
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “breviary” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).breviaryfalls 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: “brachytherapy” (#89,180), “Brindisi” (#89,184), “brach” (#89,179). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “breviary” is #89,182. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

breviary is uncommon English at frequency #89,182 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈbɹɛv.ɪ.əɹ.i/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for breviary in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin breviārium (“summary”) (compare abbreviation), ultimately from brevis (“short”). Doublet of brevier and brimborion. The correct English form is breviary, spelled B-R-E-V-I-A-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A book containing prayers, hymns, and so on for everyday use at the canonical hours.
  2. 2
    A brief statement or summary.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Sister took out her breviary and said her evening office.

Etymology

From Latin breviārium (“summary”) (compare abbreviation), ultimately from brevis (“short”). Doublet of brevier and brimborion.

This word in other languages

breviario(Español)bréviaire(Français)Brevier(Deutsch)breviário(Português)

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 "breviary"?
"breviary" is spelled B-R-E-V-I-A-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɹɛv.ɪ.əɹ.i/.
What does "breviary" mean?
As a noun, "breviary" means: A book containing prayers, hymns, and so on for everyday use at the canonical hours.
How do you pronounce "breviary"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "breviary" is /ˈbɹɛv.ɪ.əɹ.i/. 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 "breviary"?
From Latin breviārium (“summary”) (compare abbreviation), ultimately from brevis (“short”). Doublet of brevier and brimborion. 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 "breviary", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Brindisi#89,184Brossard#89,189blurting#89,171Birchall#89,165

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list