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douglas

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

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Letters

7 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "douglas", 7-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 "douglas" 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 "douglas" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

Douglas is aEnglishname. It means: A habitational surname from Scottish Gaelic of Scottish origin. Pronounced /ˈdʌɡləs/. It ranks #5,029 in English word frequency. Often confused with doubles.

Key facts for Douglas
PropertyValue
HeadwordDouglas
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechName
IPA/ˈdʌɡləs/
Letters7
Frequency rank#5,029
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

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

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for Douglas is 7 letters long, classified as aname, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdʌɡləs/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,029 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 42 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 10 documented wrong-spelling variants for Douglas, with forms such as "ddouglas", "dogulas", and "dougals". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "doubles", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From a place name, Scottish Gaelic dubh (“black”) + glais (“stream”). 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 Douglas, spelled D-O-U-G-L-A-S, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A habitational surname from Scottish Gaelic of Scottish origin.
  2. 2
    A male given name transferred from the surname.
  3. 3
    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
  4. 4
    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
  5. 5
    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
  7. 7
    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
  8. 8
    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
  12. 12
    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
  22. 22
    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
  23. 23
    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
  24. 24
    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
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    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:
  42. 42
    A place name or the name of a geographical feature, often given after a person, notably held by:

Etymology

From a place name, Scottish Gaelic dubh (“black”) + glais (“stream”).

This word in other languages

Spanish(Español)Portuguese(Português)French(Français)German(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ddouglas,dogulas,dougals,dougglas,douglass,dougllas,douglsa,doulgas,duoglas,oduglas

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for Douglas

Misspelling Variants of "Douglas"

ddouglas8dogulas7dougals7dougglas8douglass8dougllas8douglsa7doulgas7
Misspelling Variants of "Douglas"

Frequency rank: #5,029 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Douglas"?
"Douglas" is spelled D-O-U-G-L-A-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdʌɡləs/.
What does "Douglas" mean?
As a name, "Douglas" means: A habitational surname from Scottish Gaelic of Scottish origin.
What words are commonly confused with "Douglas"?
"Douglas" is commonly confused with "doubles". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Douglas"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Douglas" is /ˈdʌɡləs/. 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 "Douglas"?
From a place name, Scottish Gaelic dubh (“black”) + glais (“stream”). 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:

All "D" wordsABCDEFGHIJKL

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