Carthage
/ˈkɑːθɪdʒ/
"carthage" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Carthage” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #26,712 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #26,712
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An ancient city in North Africa, in modern Tunisia.
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 | Carthage |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈkɑːθɪdʒ/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #26,712 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Carthage” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Carthage is 8 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkɑːθɪdʒ/. Corpus data places it at rank #26,712 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 16 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for Carthage, with forms such as "acrthage", "carhtage", and "carrthage". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "cartilage", "carnage", "carriage", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French Carthage, from Latin Carthāgō, from Phoenician 𐤒𐤓𐤕-𐤇𐤃𐤔𐤕 (qrt-ḥdšt), possibly via Etruscan *𐌂𐌀𐌓𐌈𐌀𐌆𐌀 (*carθaza), from 𐤒𐤓𐤕 (qrt, “city”) + 𐤇𐤃𐤔𐤕 (ḥdšt, “new”) as distinguished from the colonists' mother city of Tyre. More… The correct English form is Carthage, spelled C-A-R-T-H-A-G-E.
Definition
- 1An ancient city in North Africa, in modern Tunisia.
- 2An ancient empire in North Africa and Southern Europe with its capital at Carthage.
- 3A community in the Township of Perth East, Perth County, Ontario, Canada.
- 4Several places in the United States:
- 5Several places in the United States:
- 6Several places in the United States:
- 7Several places in the United States:
- 8Several places in the United States:
- 9Several places in the United States:
- 10Several places in the United States:
- 11Several places in the United States:
- 12Several places in the United States:
- 13Several places in the United States:
- 14Several places in the United States:
- 15Several places in the United States:
- 16Several places in the United States:
Etymology
From Middle French Carthage, from Latin Carthāgō, from Phoenician 𐤒𐤓𐤕-𐤇𐤃𐤔𐤕 (qrt-ḥdšt), possibly via Etruscan *𐌂𐌀𐌓𐌈𐌀𐌆𐌀 (*carθaza), from 𐤒𐤓𐤕 (qrt, “city”) + 𐤇𐤃𐤔𐤕 (ḥdšt, “new”) as distinguished from the colonists' mother city of Tyre. More at Carthāgō.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: acrthage,carhtage,carrthage,cartahge,carthaeg,carthagge,carthgae,carthhage,cartthage,catrhage,ccarthage,crathage
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Carthage - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "Carthage"?
What does "Carthage" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "Carthage"?
How do you pronounce "Carthage"?
What is the origin of the word "Carthage"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “Carthage”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-A-R-T-H-A-G-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkɑːθɪdʒ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “cartilage” - see the side-by-side comparison. Carthage vs cartilage
- 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.