chemist
/ˈkɛmɪst/
"chemist" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“chemist” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,718. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #14,718
- frequency rank, English
- 5,599
- “C” headwords
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who specializes in the science of chemistry, especially at a professional level.
Corpus desk
Index EN-chemist · chemist · English
chemist · rank #14,718 · 11 variants · 5 confusables
- FREQ-MID #14,718
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
- VAR-MID 11 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 5,599
- PHOTO-FINISH cheeky
Nearest frequency peer: cheeky (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “chemist”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- CCTV
CCTV
85,286 corpus weight
- Cecil
Cecil
85,285 corpus weight
- cheeky
cheeky
85,284 corpus weight
- chemist
chemist
85,283 corpus weight
- Choi
Choi
85,282 corpus weight
- coastline
coastline
85,281 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “chemist” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | chemist |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkɛmɪst/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #14,718 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “chemist” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 11 spelling variants around chemist (IPA /ˈkɛmɪst/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #14,718 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for chemist, with forms such as "cchemist", "cehmist", and "cheimst". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "chest", "Christ", "cherish", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰew- Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Ancient Greek -μᾰ (-mă) Ancient Greek χῠ́μᾰ (khŭ́mă) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ία (-ía) Ancient Greek… The correct English form is chemist, spelled C-H-E-M-I-S-T.
Definition
- 1A person who specializes in the science of chemistry, especially at a professional level.
- 2Synonym of pharmacist.
- 3Synonym of pharmacy, especially as a standalone shop or general store.
- 4An alchemist.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how chemist appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
It was Oxford now—the matriculation photograph, posed in the stony front quad at Corpus, the pelican on top of the sundial appearing to sit on the head of the lanky, begowned chemist at the centre of the back row.
As the world's drug habit shows, governments are failing in their quest to monitor every London window-box and Andean hillside for banned plants. But even that Sisyphean task looks easy next to the fight against synthetic drugs. No sooner has a drug been blacklisted than chemists adjust their recipe and start churning out a subtly different one.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰew- Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Ancient Greek -μᾰ (-mă) Ancient Greek χῠ́μᾰ (khŭ́mă) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ία (-ía) Ancient Greek χυμείᾱ (khumeíā)bor. Arabic الْكِيمِيَاء (al-kīmiyāʔ)bor. Medieval Latin alchēmia ▲ Ancient Greek χυμείᾱ (khumeíā)influ. New Latin chimiabor. Middle French chymie French chimie Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ίζω (-ízō) Proto-Hellenic *-tās Ancient Greek -τής (-tḗs) Ancient Greek -ιστής (-istḗs)der. Latin -istabor. French -iste French chimistebor. English chemist First attested 1562, borrowed from French chimiste, from Medieval Latin chimista, from earlier alchimista (literally “alchemist”), from Arabic الْكِيمِيَاء (al-kīmiyāʔ), with article اَلْ (al-) + Ancient Greek χυμεία (khumeía, “art of alloying metals”), from χύμα (khúma, “fluid”), from χυμός (khumós, “juice”), from χέω (khéō, “I pour”). The pronunciation with initial /k/ is based on the Graeco-Latin etymology rather than on the French word, where the pronunciation with /ʃ/ is based on native French orthography. As a synonym for pharmacy, a metonymous use of the proprietor to stand for their shop.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- cchemist
- cehmist
- cheimst
- chemisst
- chemistt
- chemits
- chemmist
- chemsit
- chhemist
- chmeist
- hcemist
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of chemist - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "chemist"?
What does "chemist" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "chemist"?
How do you pronounce "chemist"?
What is the origin of the word "chemist"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "chemist", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "chemist". Here's where to go from here.
- "chemist" maps to 5 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "chest". View pair
- 11 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #14,718 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "C" letter cohort. C–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.