comedy of errors
/ˌkɒmɪdi əv ˈɛɹəz/
"comedy-of-errors" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“comedy of errors” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 16
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A comedy in which the humour is due to misinterpretations, mistaken identity, etc.
Corpus desk
Index EN-comedy-of-errors · comedy of errors · English
comedy of errors · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 16 letters
- VOW-6 6 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "C" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | comedy of errors |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌkɒmɪdi əv ˈɛɹəz/ |
| Letters | 16 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “comedy of errors” in English
Rare enough to double-check
comedy of errors is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌkɒmɪdi əv ˈɛɹəz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
comedy of errors has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From comedy + of + errors, probably coined by the English playwright William Shakespeare (c. 1564 – 1616) as the title of the play The Comedy of Errors (written c. 1594; published 1623), about two sets of identical twins separated at birth who are involved … The correct English form is comedy of errors, spelled C-O-M-E-D-Y- -O-F- -E-R-R-O-R-S.
Definition
- 1A comedy in which the humour is due to misinterpretations, mistaken identity, etc.
- 2A series of amusing or farcical events involving awkward missteps or other mistakes.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how comedy of errors appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
[I]n ſome comedyes of Errors, […] the Miſtres and the Maide change habits […]
VVhat Comedies''' of errors ſvvell the ſtage / VVith your moſt publike vices, vvhen the age / Dares perſonate in action, for, your eies / Ranke Sceanes of your luſt-ſvveating qualities: […]
Etymology
From comedy + of + errors, probably coined by the English playwright William Shakespeare (c. 1564 – 1616) as the title of the play The Comedy of Errors (written c. 1594; published 1623), about two sets of identical twins separated at birth who are involved in a series of mistaken identities.
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.