dorsum
/ˈdɔː.səm/
"dorsum" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“dorsum” is uncommon English (frequency #54,747 among 26,416 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #54,747
- frequency rank, English
- 26,416
- “D” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The back or dorsal region on the surface of an animal.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | dorsum |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈdɔː.səm/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #54,747 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “dorsum” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
dorsum is uncommon English at frequency #54,747 among 26,416 “D” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈdɔː.səm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
dorsum has no tracked misspelling variants, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Latin dorsum (“the back”). The correct English form is dorsum, spelled D-O-R-S-U-M.
Definition
- 1The back or dorsal region on the surface of an animal.
- 2The back or dorsal region on the surface of an animal.
- 3A ridge on a hill, or on the surface of a planet or moon.
- 4Theta Capricorni, a star on the back of the Goat.
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin dorsum (“the back”).
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 “dorsum”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-O-R-S-U-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdɔː.səm/ (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.