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chowder

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

7 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "chowder", 7-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "chowder" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "chowder" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

chowder is aEnglishnoun. It means: A thick, creamy soup or stew. Pronounced /ˈt͡ʃaʊdɚ/. Often confused with coder and cower.

Key facts for chowder
PropertyValue
Headwordchowder
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈt͡ʃaʊdɚ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#37,854
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of chowder in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for chowder is 7 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈt͡ʃaʊdɚ/. Corpus data places it at rank #37,854 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 11 documented wrong-spelling variants for chowder, with forms such as "cchowder", "chhowder", and "chodwer". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "coder", "cower", "Cowper", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Probably borrowed from French chaudière, from Late Latin caldāria (“cooking-pot”), derived from Latin caldus (“hot”). Related to English cauldron. Possibly from older English jowter (“fish monger”). Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is chowder, spelled C-H-O-W-D-E-R, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A thick, creamy soup or stew.
  2. 2
    A stew, particularly fish or seafood, not necessarily thickened.
  3. 3
    Alternative spelling of jowter.

Etymology

Probably borrowed from French chaudière, from Late Latin caldāria (“cooking-pot”), derived from Latin caldus (“hot”). Related to English cauldron. Possibly from older English jowter (“fish monger”).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: cchowder,chhowder,chodwer,chowdder,chowderr,chowdre,chowedr,chowwder,chwoder,cohwder,hcowder

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for chowder

Misspelling Variants of "chowder"

cchowder8chhowder8chodwer7chowdder8chowderr8chowdre7chowedr7chowwder8
Misspelling Variants of "chowder"

Frequency rank: #37,854 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "chowder"?
"chowder" is spelled C-H-O-W-D-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈt͡ʃaʊdɚ/.
What does "chowder" mean?
As a noun, "chowder" means: A thick, creamy soup or stew.
What words are commonly confused with "chowder"?
"chowder" is commonly confused with "coder", "cower", "Cowper". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "chowder"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "chowder" is /ˈt͡ʃaʊdɚ/. 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 "chowder"?
Probably borrowed from French chaudière, from Late Latin caldāria (“cooking-pot”), derived from Latin caldus (“hot”). Related to English cauldron. Possibly from older English jowter (“fish monger”). 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter C in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.