cassowary

/ˈkæs.əˌwɛɹ.i/

//ˈkæs.əˌwɛɹ.i// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"cassowary" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cassowary” is uncommon English (frequency #93,522 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#93,522
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any large flightless bird of the genus Casuarius that is native to Australia and New Guinea, has a characteristic bony crest on its head, and can be very dangerous.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cassowary · cassowary · English

cassowary · rank #93,522 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #93,522
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH castanets

Nearest frequency peer: castanets (+1 rank slots)

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.

Long-tail ranks near “cassowary”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “cassowary” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cassowary
PropertyValue
Headwordcassowary
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkæs.əˌwɛɹ.i/
Letters9
Frequency rank#93,522
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cassowary” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).cassowaryfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “castanets” (#93,523), “carbamazepine” (#93,520), “Canyonlands” (#93,519). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cassowary” is #93,522. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cassowary is uncommon English at frequency #93,522 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkæs.əˌwɛɹ.i/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Any large flightless bird of the genus Casuarius that is native to Australia and New Guinea, has a characteristic bony crest on its head, and can be very dangerous.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for cassowary in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Malay kasuari. The correct English form is cassowary, spelled C-A-S-S-O-W-A-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any large flightless bird of the genus Casuarius that is native to Australia and New Guinea, has a characteristic bony crest on its head, and can be very dangerous.

Etymology

From Malay kasuari.

This word in other languages

casuario(Español)casoar(Français)Kasuar(Deutsch)

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 "cassowary"?
"cassowary" is spelled C-A-S-S-O-W-A-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkæs.əˌwɛɹ.i/.
What does "cassowary" mean?
As a noun, "cassowary" means: Any large flightless bird of the genus Casuarius that is native to Australia and New Guinea, has a characteristic bony crest on its head, and can be very dangerous.
How do you pronounce "cassowary"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cassowary" is /ˈkæs.əˌwɛɹ.i/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "cassowary"?
From Malay kasuari. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cassowary", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

castanets#93,523calendula#93,512chanteuse#93,536Brookland#93,502

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list