diadem
/ˈdaɪ.əˌdɛm/
"diadem" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“diadem” is uncommon English (frequency #60,014 among 26,416 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #60,014
- frequency rank, English
- 26,416
- “D” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An ornamental headband worn as a badge of royalty.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | diadem |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈdaɪ.əˌdɛm/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #60,014 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “diadem” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
diadem is uncommon English at frequency #60,014 among 26,416 “D” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈdaɪ.əˌdɛm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for diadem, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English diademe, dyademe, from Old French diademe, from Latin diadēma, from Ancient Greek διάδημα (diádēma, “band, especially worn around a tiara”), from διαδέω (diadéō, “bind around”). The correct English form is diadem, spelled D-I-A-D-E-M.
Definition
- 1An ornamental headband worn as a badge of royalty.
- 2A crown.
- 3Regal power; sovereignty; empire—considered as symbolized by the crown.
- 4An arch rising from the rim of a crown (rarely also of a coronet), and uniting with others over its centre.
Etymology
From Middle English diademe, dyademe, from Old French diademe, from Latin diadēma, from Ancient Greek διάδημα (diádēma, “band, especially worn around a tiara”), from διαδέω (diadéō, “bind around”).
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); 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
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Using “diadem”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-I-A-D-E-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdaɪ.əˌdɛm/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.