devil's bit

noun

"devil-s-bit" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“devil's bit” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - devil's bit scabious (Succisa pratensis), native to Europe.

Corpus desk

Index EN-devil-s-bit · devil's bit · English

devil's bit · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-3 3 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.

Key facts for devil's bit
PropertyValue
Headworddevil's bit
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “devil's bit” in English

devil's bitfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

devil's bit is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for devil's bit, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Calque of Latin morsus diaboli. The correct English form is devil's bit, spelled D-E-V-I-L-'-S- -B-I-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    devil's bit scabious (Succisa pratensis), native to Europe.
  2. 2
    blazing star (Chamaelirium luteum), native to North America.

Etymology

Calque of Latin morsus diaboli.

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

How do you spell "devil's bit"?
"devil's bit" is spelled D-E-V-I-L-'-S- -B-I-T.
What does "devil's bit" mean?
As a noun, "devil's bit" means: devil's bit scabious (Succisa pratensis), native to Europe.
What is the origin of the word "devil's bit"?
Calque of Latin morsus diaboli. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list