declivity
/dɪˈklɪvɪti/
"declivity" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“declivity” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The downward slope of a curve.
Corpus desk
Index EN-declivity · declivity · English
declivity · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "D" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | declivity |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /dɪˈklɪvɪti/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “declivity” in English
Rare enough to double-check
declivity is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /dɪˈklɪvɪti/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for declivity, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: 1610s, from French déclivité, from Latin declivitatem, dēclīvitās, from dēclivis (“a sloping downward”), from de (“down”) + clīvus (“a slope”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱleywo-, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- (“to lean”) (English lean). The correct English form is declivity, spelled D-E-C-L-I-V-I-T-Y.
Definition
- 1The downward slope of a curve.
- 2A downward bend in a path.
- 3An inward curve of the exoskeleton of an insect, such as between body segments; a segment of an insect's body where the exoskeleton curves inward.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how declivity appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The Declivity was ſo ſmall, that I walked near a mile before I got to the Shore, which I conjectur'd was about eight a-clock in the Evening.
1780, Theodore Augustine Mann, A Treatise on Rivers and Canals, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Volume 69: For the Year 1779, Part II, 582, The velocity of flowing waters is very far from being in proportion to the quantity of declivity in their bed: […] .
Etymology
1610s, from French déclivité, from Latin declivitatem, dēclīvitās, from dēclivis (“a sloping downward”), from de (“down”) + clīvus (“a slope”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱleywo-, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- (“to lean”) (English lean).
This word in other languages
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.