December

/dɪˈsɛmbə/

//dɪˈsɛmbə// name

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

"december" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“December” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #901. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#901
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
12
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The twelfth and last month of the Gregorian calendar, following November and preceding the January of the following year, containing the southern solstice.

Corpus desk

Index EN-december · December · English

December · rank #901 · 12 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #901
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH daughter

Nearest frequency peer: daughter (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “December”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “December” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for December
PropertyValue
HeadwordDecember
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/dɪˈsɛmbə/
Letters8
Frequency rank#901
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “December”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).Decemberlands here:

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “daughter” (#900), “die” (#902), “daily” (#899). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “December” is #901. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around December (IPA /dɪˈsɛmbə/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #901 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for December, with forms such as "dceember", "ddecember", and "deccember". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥ Proto-Italic *dekəm Latin decem Latin December Latin decemberbor. Old French decembrebor. Middle English December English December From Middle English December, Decembre, from Old French decembre, from Latin decembe… The correct English form is December, spelled D-E-C-E-M-B-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    The twelfth and last month of the Gregorian calendar, following November and preceding the January of the following year, containing the southern solstice.
  2. 2
    A female given name transferred from the month name [in turn from English].
  3. 3
    A surname.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Holonyms: calendar year; year
  2. Old Oakes doe not eaſily fall: / Decembers cold hand combes my head and beard, / But May ſvvimmes in my blood; and he that vvalkes / VVithout his vvooden third legge, is never old.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥ Proto-Italic *dekəm Latin decem Latin December Latin decemberbor. Old French decembrebor. Middle English December English December From Middle English December, Decembre, from Old French decembre, from Latin december (“tenth month”), from Latin decem (“ten”); + Latin -ber, from -bris, an adjectival suffix; December was the tenth month in the Roman calendar.

This word in other languages

diciembre(Español)décembre(Français)Dezember(Deutsch)dezembro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • dceember
  • ddecember
  • deccember
  • decebmer
  • decembber
  • decemberr
  • decembre
  • decemebr
  • decemmber
  • decmeber
  • deecmber
  • edcember

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of December - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

dceember2ddecember1deccember1decebmer2decembber1decemberr1decembre2decemebr2
Edit distance from "December"

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 "December"?
"December" is spelled D-E-C-E-M-B-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪˈsɛmbə/.
What does "December" mean?
As a proper noun, "December" means: The twelfth and last month of the Gregorian calendar, following November and preceding the January of the following year, containing the southern solstice.
What are common misspellings of "December"?
Common misspellings include "dceember", "ddecember", "deccember", "decebmer", "decembber". The correct spelling is "December".
How do you pronounce "December"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "December" is /dɪˈsɛmbə/. 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 "December"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥ Proto-Italic *dekəm Latin decem Latin December Latin decemberbor. Old French decembrebor. Middle English December English December From Middle English December, Decembre, from Old French decembre, from Lat... 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 "December", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

daughter#900hospital#905starting#915increase#877

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

difficult12 variantssystems12 variantsAustralia12 variantsinternet12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list