daughter

Name: daughter, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˈdɔːtə(ɹ)/

//ˈdɔːtə(ɹ)// noun

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“daughter” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #900 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#900
frequency rank, English: 8
letters: 12
tracked misspellings: 1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - One’s female offspring.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

daughter vs daughters

89% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for daughter
Property	Value
Headword	daughter
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/ˈdɔːtə(ɹ)/
Letters	8
Frequency rank	#900
Misspellings tracked	12
Confusable pairs	1
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “daughter” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). daughter lands here:

#900

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for daughter is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdɔːtə(ɹ)/. Corpus data places it at rank #900 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for daughter, with forms such as "adughter", "daguhter", and "daugghter". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "daughters", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English doghter, doughter, from Old English dohtor (“daughter”), from Proto-West Germanic *dohter, from Proto-Germanic *duhtēr, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰugh₂tḗr. The correct English form is daughter, spelled D-A-U-G-H-T-E-R.

Definition

1
One’s female offspring.
2
A female descendant.
3
A daughter language.
4
A nuclide left over from radioactive decay.
5
A descendant.
6
A female character of a creator.
7
A familiar address to a female person from an older or otherwise more authoritative person.

Etymology

From Middle English doghter, doughter, from Old English dohtor (“daughter”), from Proto-West Germanic *dohter, from Proto-Germanic *duhtēr, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰugh₂tḗr.

Antonyms

son mother father parent

This word in other languages

hija(Español)fille(Français)Tochter(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: adughter,daguhter,daugghter,daughetr,daughhter,daughterr,daughtre,daughtter,daugther,dauhgter,ddaughter,duaghter

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of daughter - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

Edit distance from "daughter"

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 "daughter"?

"daughter" is spelled D-A-U-G-H-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdɔːtə(ɹ)/.

What does "daughter" mean?

As a noun, "daughter" means: One’s female offspring.

What words are commonly confused with "daughter"?

"daughter" is commonly confused with "daughters". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "daughter"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "daughter" is /ˈdɔːtə(ɹ)/. 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 "daughter"?

From Middle English doghter, doughter, from Old English dohtor (“daughter”), from Proto-West Germanic *dohter, from Proto-Germanic *duhtēr, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰugh₂tḗr. 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.

Using “daughter”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is D-A-U-G-H-T-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /ˈdɔːtə(ɹ)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Don't mix it up with “daughters” - see the side-by-side comparison. daughter vs daughters
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.