camel
/ˈkæml̩/
"camel" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“camel” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #12,197 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #12,197
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A mammalian beast of burden, much used in desert areas, of the genus Camelus.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | camel |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkæml̩/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #12,197 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “camel” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for camel is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkæml̩/. Corpus data places it at rank #12,197 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for camel, with forms such as "acmel", "caeml", and "camell". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "CME", "cel", "come", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English camel, through Old English camel and Old Northern French camel (Old French chamel, modern French chameau), from Latin camēlus, from Ancient Greek κάμηλος (kámēlos), from a Semitic source, ultimately from Proto-Semitic *gamal-; compare Ar… The correct English form is camel, spelled C-A-M-E-L.
Definition
- 1A mammalian beast of burden, much used in desert areas, of the genus Camelus.
- 2A light brownish color, like that of a camel (also called camel brown).
- 3A vessel or tank, typically paired, used to make an object more buoyant.
- 4A person of Middle Eastern origin.
- 5A fairy chess piece that is moved three squares in one direction and one at right angles to that direction in a single move, leaping over any intervening pieces.
Etymology
From Middle English camel, through Old English camel and Old Northern French camel (Old French chamel, modern French chameau), from Latin camēlus, from Ancient Greek κάμηλος (kámēlos), from a Semitic source, ultimately from Proto-Semitic *gamal-; compare Arabic جَمَل (jamal), Hebrew גמל (gamál), Aramaic ܓܡܠܐ (gamlā), Coptic ϭⲁⲙⲟⲩⲗ (čamoul). As a marine device, from Dutch. As an ethnic slur, short for camelfucker, camel jockey, etc.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: acmel,caeml,camell,camle,cammel,ccamel,cmael
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of camel - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 “camel”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-A-M-E-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkæml̩/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “CME” - see the side-by-side comparison. camel vs CME
- 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.