English Word Reference Free

devon

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

5 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

open dictionary

Access

Free

no sign-up needed

Detailed reference entry for the English word "devon", 5-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "devon" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "devon" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

Devon is aEnglishname. It means: A county of England bordered by Cornwall, Somerset, Dorset, the Bristol Channel and the English Channel. Pronounced /ˈdɛv.ən/. It ranks #9,033 in English word frequency. Often confused with don and Dion.

Key facts for Devon
PropertyValue
HeadwordDevon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechName
IPA/ˈdɛv.ən/
Letters5
Frequency rank#9,033
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of Devon in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for Devon is 5 letters long, classified as aname, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdɛv.ən/. Corpus data places it at rank #9,033 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 16 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 7 documented wrong-spelling variants for Devon, with forms such as "ddevon", "deovn", and "devno". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "don", "Dion", "devs", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old English Defenas, which meant both "Devonians" and "Devon," exemplifying the common Anglo-Saxon practice of naming a place after the people who inhabit it. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is Devon, spelled D-E-V-O-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A county of England bordered by Cornwall, Somerset, Dorset, the Bristol Channel and the English Channel.
  2. 2
    A river in Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, England, a tributary to the Trent.
  3. 3
    A river in Clackmannanshire council area and Perth and Kinross council area, Scotland, a tributary of the Forth.
  4. 4
    A place in Canada:
  5. 5
    A place in Canada:
  6. 6
    A place in Canada:
  7. 7
    A place in the United States:
  8. 8
    A place in the United States:
  9. 9
    A place in the United States:
  10. 10
    A place in the United States:
  11. 11
    A place in the United States:
  12. 12
    A settlement in Gauteng province, South Africa.
  13. 13
    An English earldom.
  14. 14
    A male given name transferred from the place name, or a variant of Devin.
  15. 15
    A female given name transferred from the place name, of modern American usage.
  16. 16
    A surname.

Etymology

From Old English Defenas, which meant both "Devonians" and "Devon," exemplifying the common Anglo-Saxon practice of naming a place after the people who inhabit it.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ddevon,deovn,devno,devonn,devvon,dveon,edvon

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for Devon

Misspelling Variants of "Devon"

ddevon6deovn5devno5devonn6devvon6dveon5edvon5
Misspelling Variants of "Devon"

Frequency rank: #9,033 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Devon"?
"Devon" is spelled D-E-V-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdɛv.ən/.
What does "Devon" mean?
As a name, "Devon" means: A county of England bordered by Cornwall, Somerset, Dorset, the Bristol Channel and the English Channel.
What words are commonly confused with "Devon"?
"Devon" is commonly confused with "don", "Dion", "devs". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Devon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Devon" is /ˈdɛv.ən/. 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 "Devon"?
From Old English Defenas, which meant both "Devonians" and "Devon," exemplifying the common Anglo-Saxon practice of naming a place after the people who inhabit it. 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter D in our English index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.