dorsal
/ˈdɔː.səl/
"dorsal" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“dorsal” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #16,011 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #16,011
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - With respect to, or concerning the side in which the backbone is located, or the analogous side of an invertebrate.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | dorsal |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈdɔː.səl/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #16,011 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “dorsal” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for dorsal is 6 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdɔː.səl/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,011 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for dorsal, with forms such as "ddorsal", "dorasl", and "dorrsal". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "Dorset", "Dorsey", "Dora", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Late Middle English dorsal/dorsale, borrowing from Medieval Latin dorsālis (“of or relating to the back”), from dorsum (“the back”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix); equivalent to dorsum + -al. The correct English form is dorsal, spelled D-O-R-S-A-L.
Definition
- 1With respect to, or concerning the side in which the backbone is located, or the analogous side of an invertebrate.
- 2With respect to, or concerning the side in which the backbone is located, or the analogous side of an invertebrate.
- 3Having only one sharp side.
- 4Relating to the surface naturally inferior, as of a leaf.
- 5Relating to the surface naturally superior, as of a creeping hepatic moss.
Etymology
From Late Middle English dorsal/dorsale, borrowing from Medieval Latin dorsālis (“of or relating to the back”), from dorsum (“the back”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix); equivalent to dorsum + -al.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddorsal,dorasl,dorrsal,dorsall,dorsla,dorssal,dosral,drosal,odrsal
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of dorsal - 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.
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 "dorsal"?
What does "dorsal" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "dorsal"?
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Using “dorsal”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-O-R-S-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdɔː.səl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Dorset” - see the side-by-side comparison. dorsal vs Dorset
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.