Chemung

/ʃəˈmʌŋ/

//ʃəˈmʌŋ// name

"chemung" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Chemung” is uncommon English (frequency #87,131 among 43,570 “C” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#87,131
frequency rank, English
43,570
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A river in New York and Pennsylvania, United States; flowing from the confluence of the Tioga and Cohocton rivers at Painted Post, New York into the Susquehanna at Sayre, Pennsylvania.

Key facts for Chemung
PropertyValue
HeadwordChemung
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ʃəˈmʌŋ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#87,131
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Chemung” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Chemung is uncommon English at frequency #87,131 among 43,570 “C” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /ʃəˈmʌŋ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for Chemung, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From a Lenape word meaning “at the horn” or “big horn”. The correct English form is Chemung, spelled C-H-E-M-U-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    A river in New York and Pennsylvania, United States; flowing from the confluence of the Tioga and Cohocton rivers at Painted Post, New York into the Susquehanna at Sayre, Pennsylvania.
  2. 2
    A town in Chemung County, New York; named for the river.
  3. 3
    A census-designated place and township in McHenry County, Illinois.
  4. 4
    An unincorporated community in McNett Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania.

Etymology

From a Lenape word meaning “at the horn” or “big horn”.

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 "Chemung"?
"Chemung" is spelled C-H-E-M-U-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ʃəˈmʌŋ/.
What does "Chemung" mean?
As a proper noun, "Chemung" means: A river in New York and Pennsylvania, United States; flowing from the confluence of the Tioga and Cohocton rivers at Painted Post, New York into the Susquehanna at Sayre, Pennsylvania.
How do you pronounce "Chemung"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Chemung" is /ʃəˈmʌŋ/. 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 "Chemung"?
From a Lenape word meaning “at the horn” or “big horn”. 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.

Using “Chemung”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is C-H-E-M-U-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ʃəˈmʌŋ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list