clepsydra
/ˈklɛpsɪdɹə/
"clepsydra" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“clepsydra” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Synonym of water clock, especially (historical) ancient Greek and Roman forms.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | clepsydra |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈklɛpsɪdɹə/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “clepsydra” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for clepsydra is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈklɛpsɪdɹə/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Synonym of water clock, especially (historical) ancient Greek and Roman forms.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for clepsydra, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin clepsydra, from Ancient Greek κλεψύδρα (klepsúdra), from κλέπτειν (kléptein, “to steal”) + ὕδωρ (húdōr, “water”). The correct English form is clepsydra, spelled C-L-E-P-S-Y-D-R-A.
Definition
- 1Synonym of water clock, especially (historical) ancient Greek and Roman forms.
Etymology
From Latin clepsydra, from Ancient Greek κλεψύδρα (klepsúdra), from κλέπτειν (kléptein, “to steal”) + ὕδωρ (húdōr, “water”).
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
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Using “clepsydra”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-L-E-P-S-Y-D-R-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈklɛpsɪdɹə/ (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.