circumcise
/ˈsəːkəmsʌɪz/
"circumcise" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“circumcise” is uncommon English (frequency #89,234 among 43,570 “C” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #89,234
- frequency rank, English
- 43,570
- “C” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To surgically remove the foreskin (prepuce) from the penis of.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | circumcise |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈsəːkəmsʌɪz/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #89,234 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “circumcise” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
circumcise is uncommon English at frequency #89,234 among 43,570 “C” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈsəːkəmsʌɪz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
circumcise has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French circoncisier, from Latin circumcīdō (“cut around”), from circum (“about, around; through”) + caedō (“cut, hew”). The correct English form is circumcise, spelled C-I-R-C-U-M-C-I-S-E.
Definition
- 1To surgically remove the foreskin (prepuce) from the penis of.
- 2To surgically remove the clitoris (clitoridectomy), clitoral hood, or labia.
- 3To trim off the portion of the barrel liner of a large-caliber naval gun that protrudes from the end of the barrel as a result of the liner slowly stretching from prolonged fire.
Etymology
From Old French circoncisier, from Latin circumcīdō (“cut around”), from circum (“about, around; through”) + caedō (“cut, hew”).
Synonyms
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); 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
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Using “circumcise”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-I-R-C-U-M-C-I-S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsəːkəmsʌɪz/ (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.