caduceus
/kəˈdu.si.əs/
"caduceus" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“caduceus” is uncommon English (frequency #91,328 among 43,570 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #91,328
- frequency rank, English
- 43,570
- “C” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The official wand carried by a herald in ancient Greece and Rome, specifically the one carried in mythology by Hermes, the messenger of the gods, usually represented with two snakes twined around it.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | caduceus |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /kəˈdu.si.əs/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #91,328 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “caduceus” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
caduceus is uncommon English at frequency #91,328 among 43,570 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /kəˈdu.si.əs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for caduceus in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Via Latin cādūceus, cādūceum, adaptation of Doric Ancient Greek καρύκειον (karúkeion, “herald’s wand or staff”). This and Attic Greek κηρύκειον (kērúkeion) are derived from κῆρυξ (kêrux, “herald, public messenger”). Related to κηρύσσω (kērússō, “I announce”). The correct English form is caduceus, spelled C-A-D-U-C-E-U-S.
Definition
- 1The official wand carried by a herald in ancient Greece and Rome, specifically the one carried in mythology by Hermes, the messenger of the gods, usually represented with two snakes twined around it.
- 2A symbol (☤) representing a staff with two snakes wrapped around it, used to indicate merchants and messengers. It is also sometimes incorrectly substituted for the rod of Asclepius as a symbol of medicine.
Etymology
Via Latin cādūceus, cādūceum, adaptation of Doric Ancient Greek καρύκειον (karúkeion, “herald’s wand or staff”). This and Attic Greek κηρύκειον (kērúkeion) are derived from κῆρυξ (kêrux, “herald, public messenger”). Related to κηρύσσω (kērússō, “I announce”).
This word in other languages
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 “caduceus”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-A-D-U-C-E-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /kəˈdu.si.əs/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.