caliche
/kəˈlit͡ʃi/
"caliche" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“caliche” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A crude form of sodium nitrate from South America; used as a fertilizer.
Corpus desk
Index EN-caliche · caliche · English
caliche · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "C" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | caliche |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /kəˈlit͡ʃi/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “caliche” in English
Rare enough to double-check
caliche is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /kəˈlit͡ʃi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for caliche in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Spanish caliche, from Latin calx (“pebble”); compare chalk. The correct English form is caliche, spelled C-A-L-I-C-H-E.
Definition
- 1A crude form of sodium nitrate from South America; used as a fertilizer.
- 2A layer of hard clay subsoil or sedimentary rock; hardpan.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how caliche appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
According to local well drillers, in wells drilled on the high plains a few hundred feet back from the caliche escarpment or in other locations on the high plains in this area no hard caliche or white layer, such as would characterize a soft layer of high lime-carbonate content, is generally reached at a depth corresponding to the elevation of the caliche…
Having a layer of caliche at depths of 16 inches and less really puts a damper on the garden site. The caliche does not allow roots to penetrate it (tree roots often take 10 years to break through a caliche layer) nor does this mineral allow water to drain.
Etymology
From Spanish caliche, from Latin calx (“pebble”); compare chalk.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.