coven
/ˈkʌv.ən/
"coven" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“coven” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #28,883 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #28,883
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A nunnery, a convent
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | coven |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkʌv.ən/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #28,883 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “coven” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for coven is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkʌv.ən/. Corpus data places it at rank #28,883 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for coven, with forms such as "ccoven", "coevn", and "covenn". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "cover", "COVID", "cowan", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English covent, from Anglo-Norman covent, cuvent, from Old French covent, from Latin conventum, from conveniō, from cum (“with”) and venio (“to come”). Doublet of convent. The correct English form is coven, spelled C-O-V-E-N.
Definition
- 1A nunnery, a convent
- 2A confederacy or band of people (obsolete)
- 3A formal group or assembly of witches.
- 4In fantasy fiction, a family, group or assembly of vampires.
- 5A clique that shares common interests or activities.
Etymology
From Middle English covent, from Anglo-Norman covent, cuvent, from Old French covent, from Latin conventum, from conveniō, from cum (“with”) and venio (“to come”). Doublet of convent.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccoven,coevn,covenn,covne,covven,cvoen,ocven
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of coven - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 “coven”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-V-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkʌv.ən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “cover” - see the side-by-side comparison. coven vs cover
- 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.