calvous
/ˈkælvəs/
"calvous" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“calvous” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an adjective - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Lacking most or all of one's hair; bald, hairless.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | calvous |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈkælvəs/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “calvous” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for calvous is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkælvəs/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for calvous, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin calvus (“bald, hairless”) (of unclear origin, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *kl̥h₂wós or *kalw- (“bald; naked”), from a root *kl̥H- + *-wós (suffix forming adjectives from verb stems)) + -ous (suffix forming adjectives from nouns, den… The correct English form is calvous, spelled C-A-L-V-O-U-S.
Definition
- 1Lacking most or all of one's hair; bald, hairless.
- 2Lacking bristles or pappuses.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin calvus (“bald, hairless”) (of unclear origin, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *kl̥h₂wós or *kalw- (“bald; naked”), from a root *kl̥H- + *-wós (suffix forming adjectives from verb stems)) + -ous (suffix forming adjectives from nouns, denoting possession or presence of a quality).
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “calvous”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-A-L-V-O-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkælvəs/ (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.