cathedral

/kəˈθiːdɹəl/

//kəˈθiːdɹəl// adj

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

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

The verdict

“cathedral” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,202. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,202
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
14
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Relating to the office of a bishop or an archbishop.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cathedral · cathedral · English

cathedral · rank #7,202 · 14 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,202
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Brussels

Nearest frequency peer: Brussels (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “cathedral”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “cathedral” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cathedral
PropertyValue
Headwordcathedral
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/kəˈθiːdɹəl/
Letters9
Frequency rank#7,202
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “cathedral”

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Brussels” (#7,201), “centered” (#7,203), “Bernie” (#7,200). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cathedral” is #7,202. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around cathedral (IPA /kəˈθiːdɹəl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #7,202 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Relating to the office of a bishop or an archbishop.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for cathedral, with forms such as "acthedral", "cahtedral", and "catehdral". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English cathedral, chathedral, cathiderall, from Old French [Term?], from Latin cathedrālis, from cathedra + -ālis, from Ancient Greek καθέδρα (kathédra, “chair of a teacher, throne”). The correct English form is cathedral, spelled C-A-T-H-E-D-R-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Relating to the office of a bishop or an archbishop.

Etymology

From Middle English cathedral, chathedral, cathiderall, from Old French [Term?], from Latin cathedrālis, from cathedra + -ālis, from Ancient Greek καθέδρα (kathédra, “chair of a teacher, throne”).

This word in other languages

catedral(Español)cathédral(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • acthedral
  • cahtedral
  • catehdral
  • cathderal
  • cathedarl
  • catheddral
  • cathedrall
  • cathedrla
  • cathedrral
  • catherdal
  • cathhedral
  • catthedral
  • ccathedral
  • ctahedral

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cathedral - 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.

acthedral2cahtedral2catehdral2cathderal2cathedarl2catheddral1cathedrall1cathedrla2
Edit distance from "cathedral"

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 "cathedral"?
"cathedral" is spelled C-A-T-H-E-D-R-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /kəˈθiːdɹəl/.
What does "cathedral" mean?
As an adjective, "cathedral" means: Relating to the office of a bishop or an archbishop.
What are common misspellings of "cathedral"?
Common misspellings include "acthedral", "cahtedral", "catehdral", "cathderal", "cathedarl". The correct spelling is "cathedral".
How do you pronounce "cathedral"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cathedral" is /kəˈθiːdɹəl/. 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 "cathedral"?
From Middle English cathedral, chathedral, cathiderall, from Old French [Term?], from Latin cathedrālis, from cathedra + -ālis, from Ancient Greek καθέδρα (kathédra, “chair of a teacher, throne”). 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 "cathedral", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

affiliate#7,195telegraph#7,186publicity#7,172injection#7,238

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

expressing14 variantsfacilitate14 variantslaunching14 variantsprojected14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list