commensal

/kəˈmɛnsəl/

//kəˈmɛnsəl// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"commensal" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“commensal” is uncommon English (frequency #92,481 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#92,481
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of a form of symbiosis in which one organism derives a benefit while the other is unaffected.

Corpus desk

Index EN-commensal · commensal · English

commensal · rank #92,481 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #92,481
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH colloquialism

Nearest frequency peer: colloquialism (-2 rank slots)

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.

Long-tail ranks near “commensal”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “commensal” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for commensal
PropertyValue
Headwordcommensal
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/kəˈmɛnsəl/
Letters9
Frequency rank#92,481
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “commensal” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).commensalfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “colloquialism” (#92,479), “collocation” (#92,478), “cohost” (#92,477). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “commensal” is #92,481. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

commensal is uncommon English at frequency #92,481 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /kəˈmɛnsəl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for commensal in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English commensal, from Old French commensal, from Medieval Latin commensālis, from com- + mensa (“table”) + -ālis. The correct English form is commensal, spelled C-O-M-M-E-N-S-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of a form of symbiosis in which one organism derives a benefit while the other is unaffected.
  2. 2
    Eating at the same table.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how commensal appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The fish (AMPHIPRION PERCULA) "intel-intel" of the blacks, is said to be commensal (literally, dining at the same table with its host), as distinguished from the parasite, which lives on its host.
  2. With this there is also associated the grazing or herding over wider or more restricted areas, belonging either collectively or discretely to the community, of sheep, cattle, goats, or swine, and almost always the domestic fowl is commensal with man in this life.

Etymology

From Middle English commensal, from Old French commensal, from Medieval Latin commensālis, from com- + mensa (“table”) + -ālis.

This word in other languages

comensal(Español)

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

How do you spell "commensal"?
"commensal" is spelled C-O-M-M-E-N-S-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /kəˈmɛnsəl/.
What does "commensal" mean?
As an adjective, "commensal" means: Of a form of symbiosis in which one organism derives a benefit while the other is unaffected.
How do you pronounce "commensal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "commensal" is /kəˈmɛnsəl/. 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 "commensal"?
From Middle English commensal, from Old French commensal, from Medieval Latin commensālis, from com- + mensa (“table”) + -ālis. 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "commensal", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

conciliar#92,485Decalogue#92,521Capernaum#92,430docudrama#92,541

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list