celerity

/sɪˈlɛɹɪti/

//sɪˈlɛɹɪti// noun

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

"celerity" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“celerity” is uncommon English (frequency #99,088 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#99,088
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Speed, swiftness.

Corpus desk

Index EN-celerity · celerity · English

celerity · rank #99,088 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #99,088
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cedi

Nearest frequency peer: cedi (-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 “celerity”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for celerity
PropertyValue
Headwordcelerity
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/sɪˈlɛɹɪti/
Letters8
Frequency rank#99,088
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “celerity” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).celerityfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “cedi” (#99,087), “chansons” (#99,091), “cathedra” (#99,082). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “celerity” is #99,088. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

celerity is uncommon English at frequency #99,088 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /sɪˈlɛɹɪti/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for celerity, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French celeritee (compare French célérité), from Latin celeritas, from celer (“fast, swift”). The correct English form is celerity, spelled C-E-L-E-R-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Speed, swiftness.
  2. 2
    The speed of an individual wave (as opposed to the speed of groups of waves); often denoted c.
  3. 3
    The speed of an individual wave (as opposed to the speed of groups of waves); often denoted c.
  4. 4
    The speed of symbol transmission, now called baud rate.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how celerity appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. O most kind maid, / It was the swift celerity of his death, / Which I did think with slower foot came on, / That brain'd my purpose.
  2. ...when a new medium for attraction was started in the bazaar to which we have alluded, and her letter was dispatched with all possible celerity, insisting that her daughters "should work day and night"—so ran the document—for three weeks,...

Etymology

From Old French celeritee (compare French célérité), from Latin celeritas, from celer (“fast, swift”).

This word in other languages

celeridad(Español)célérité(Français)celeridade(Português)

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 "celerity"?
"celerity" is spelled C-E-L-E-R-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /sɪˈlɛɹɪti/.
What does "celerity" mean?
As a noun, "celerity" means: Speed, swiftness.
How do you pronounce "celerity"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "celerity" is /sɪˈlɛɹɪti/. 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 "celerity"?
From Old French celeritee (compare French célérité), from Latin celeritas, from celer (“fast, swift”). 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 "celerity", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

chansons#99,091cathedra#99,082chiptune#99,100Claddagh#99,107

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list