decan
/ˈdɛkən/
"decan" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“decan” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - One of a collection of 36 small constellations or zodiacal subdivisions that appear heliacally at intervals of 10 days or are separated by approximately 10 degrees.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | decan |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈdɛkən/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “decan” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
decan is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈdɛkən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "One of a collection of 36 small constellations or zodiacal subdivisions that appear heliacally at intervals of 10 days or are separated by approximately 10 degrees.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for decan in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Late Latin decānus. The correct English form is decan, spelled D-E-C-A-N.
Definition
- 1One of a collection of 36 small constellations or zodiacal subdivisions that appear heliacally at intervals of 10 days or are separated by approximately 10 degrees.
Etymology
From Late Latin decānus.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “decan”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-E-C-A-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdɛkən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.