cunnilingus

/ˌkʌn.ɪˈlɪŋ.ɡəs/

//ˌkʌn.ɪˈlɪŋ.ɡəs// noun

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

"cunnilingus" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cunnilingus” is uncommon English (frequency #66,594 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#66,594
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Performance of oral sex upon the vulva or vagina.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cunnilingus · cunnilingus · English

cunnilingus · rank #66,594 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #66,594
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Cumbrian

Nearest frequency peer: Cumbrian (-1 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 “cunnilingus”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cunnilingus
PropertyValue
Headwordcunnilingus
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌkʌn.ɪˈlɪŋ.ɡəs/
Letters11
Frequency rank#66,594
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cunnilingus” 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).cunnilingusfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Cumbrian” (#66,593), “Cuoco” (#66,595), “cytoskeleton” (#66,596). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cunnilingus” is #66,594. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cunnilingus is uncommon English at frequency #66,594 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌkʌn.ɪˈlɪŋ.ɡəs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for cunnilingus in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin cunnilingus (literally “cuntlicker”). The meaning shift, not yet complete in the early twentieth century, perhaps derives from figurative uses where the name for a person stands for the name of a practice. The correct English form is cunnilingus, spelled C-U-N-N-I-L-I-N-G-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Performance of oral sex upon the vulva or vagina.
  2. 2
    Someone who performs oral sex on the vulva.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. The stinking breath, hoarse voice, and snoring respiration of the cunnilingus, fellator and fellatrix, the effeminate, piping tone of the cinædus and irrumator, which excited the special scorn of the early satirical writers, were doubtless the expression of a catarrhal pharyngolaryngitis acquired in the discharge of their filthy practices.

Etymology

From Latin cunnilingus (literally “cuntlicker”). The meaning shift, not yet complete in the early twentieth century, perhaps derives from figurative uses where the name for a person stands for the name of a practice.

This word in other languages

cunnilingus(Español)cunnilingus(Français)Cunnilingus(Deutsch)

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 "cunnilingus"?
"cunnilingus" is spelled C-U-N-N-I-L-I-N-G-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌkʌn.ɪˈlɪŋ.ɡəs/.
What does "cunnilingus" mean?
As a noun, "cunnilingus" means: Performance of oral sex upon the vulva or vagina.
How do you pronounce "cunnilingus"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cunnilingus" is /ˌkʌn.ɪˈlɪŋ.ɡəs/. 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 "cunnilingus"?
From Latin cunnilingus (literally “cuntlicker”). The meaning shift, not yet complete in the early twentieth century, perhaps derives from figurative uses where the name for a person stands for the name of a practice. 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 "cunnilingus", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

discernable#66,616endeavoring#66,638Carcassonne#66,540cablevision#66,536

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list