choleric
/ˈkɒləɹɪk/
"choleric" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“choleric” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an adjective - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Senses relating to choler or yellow bile (“one of the four humours formerly believed to be secreted by the liver”).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | choleric |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈkɒləɹɪk/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “choleric” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for choleric is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkɒləɹɪk/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No generated misspelling entries exist for choleric in our index, 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 Middle English colerik (“(adjective) of or relating to, or dominated by, choler; of diseases: caused by excessive or toxic choler; of persons or their temperament: dominated by choler, irascible, quick to anger, choleric; of weather or zodiac signs: fa… The correct English form is choleric, spelled C-H-O-L-E-R-I-C.
Definition
- 1Senses relating to choler or yellow bile (“one of the four humours formerly believed to be secreted by the liver”).
- 2Senses relating to choler or yellow bile (“one of the four humours formerly believed to be secreted by the liver”).
- 3Senses relating to choler or yellow bile (“one of the four humours formerly believed to be secreted by the liver”).
- 4Senses relating to choler or yellow bile (“one of the four humours formerly believed to be secreted by the liver”).
- 5Senses relating to choler or yellow bile (“one of the four humours formerly believed to be secreted by the liver”).
- 6Senses relating to choler or yellow bile (“one of the four humours formerly believed to be secreted by the liver”).
- 7Senses relating to choler or yellow bile (“one of the four humours formerly believed to be secreted by the liver”).
- 8Senses relating to choler or yellow bile (“one of the four humours formerly believed to be secreted by the liver”).
- 9Senses relating to choler or yellow bile (“one of the four humours formerly believed to be secreted by the liver”).
- 10Senses relating to cholera (“any of several acute infectious diseases caused by certain strains of the Vibrio cholerae bacterium”).
- 11Senses relating to cholera (“any of several acute infectious diseases caused by certain strains of the Vibrio cholerae bacterium”).
Etymology
From Middle English colerik (“(adjective) of or relating to, or dominated by, choler; of diseases: caused by excessive or toxic choler; of persons or their temperament: dominated by choler, irascible, quick to anger, choleric; of weather or zodiac signs: favourable to choler; (noun) person dominated by choler, person who is irascible or quick to anger; etc.”), from Anglo-Norman coleric, colerik, colerique, Middle French colerique, and Old French colerique (“(adjective) of or relating to choler; of persons or their temperament: dominated by choler, irascible, quick to anger; angry, enraged; (noun) person dominated by choler; person who is irascible”) (modern French cholérique), and from their etymon Late Latin cholericus (“quick to anger”), Latin cholericus (“person having cholera”), from Ancient Greek χολερικός (kholerikós, “of or relating to cholera”), from χολέρᾰ (kholéră, “cholera”) + -ῐκός (-ĭkós, suffix meaning ‘of or relating to’). Χολέρᾰ (Kholéră) is possibly from Pre-Greek, or from χολή (kholḗ, “bile; gall”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- (“green; yellow”). By surface analysis, choler + -ic (suffix meaning ‘of or relating to’). Piecewise doublet of choleraic. Adjective adjective sense 2.1 (“of or relating to cholera; affected by cholera”) and noun noun sense 2.1 (“person suffering from cholera”) are probably influenced by French cholérique (“(adjective) of or relating to cholera; affected by cholera; (noun) person with cholera”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "choleric"?
What does "choleric" mean?
How do you pronounce "choleric"?
What is the origin of the word "choleric"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “choleric”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-H-O-L-E-R-I-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkɒləɹɪk/ (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
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.