Easter

/ˈiːstə/

//ˈiːstə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"easter" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Easter” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,877. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,877
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A Christian feast commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated on the first Sunday (and Monday) following the full moon that occurs on or next after the vernal equinox, ranging ...

Corpus desk

Index EN-easter · Easter · English

Easter · rank #5,877 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,877
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH divide

Nearest frequency peer: divide (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Easter”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “Easter” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Easter vs enter
50% similar
Easter vs eaten
50% similar
Easter vs eater
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Easter
PropertyValue
HeadwordEaster
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈiːstə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#5,877
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Easter”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).Easterlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “divide” (#5,876), “electoral” (#5,878), “dive” (#5,875). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “Easter” is #5,877. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around Easter (IPA /ˈiːstə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,877 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for Easter, with forms such as "aester", "easetr", and "easster". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "enter", "eaten", "eater", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is derived from Middle English Ester, from Old English ēastre, seemingly from Ēastre, a proposed Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn whose festival is thought to have been celebrated around the vernal equinox. Further from Proto-West Germanic *Austrā, … The correct English form is Easter, spelled E-A-S-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A Christian feast commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated on the first Sunday (and Monday) following the full moon that occurs on or next after the vernal equinox, ranging in most of Western Christianity (such as Protestantism and Roman Catholicism) from March 22 to April 25, and in Eastern Christianity (such as the Coptic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church) from April 4 to May 8.
  2. 2
    Eastertide (“the period from Easter to Whitsun”).
  3. 3
    Usually preceded by an inflection of make: the act of receiving the Eucharist during Easter.
  4. 4
    Ellipsis of Easter term.
  5. 5
    A festival held in honour of the goddess Eostre or Ostara, celebrated at the vernal equinox or within the month of April; Eostre, Ostara.
  6. 6
    The Jewish Passover.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Easter appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. We spent each of the past five Easters together as a family.
  2. During the Easter season, the Russians are planning “a great battle in Donbas,” the Russian-occupied region in Ukraine’s far east. “This is not Christian behavior at all, as I understand it. On Easter they will kill, and they will be killed.”

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English Ester, from Old English ēastre, seemingly from Ēastre, a proposed Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn whose festival is thought to have been celebrated around the vernal equinox. Further from Proto-West Germanic *Austrā, from Proto-Germanic *Austrǭ, derived from either Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews- (“dawn; east”) or, more semantically plausible, from *austrą, *auzrą, a metathesized form of *wazrą (“spring (season)”), *-ǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *wósr̥ (“spring”). The English word is cognate with German Low German Oostern (“Easter”), Old High German ōstarūn (modern German Ostern) and is possibly a doublet of east. Despite a modern folk etymology, not related to Ishtar. The verb is derived from the noun.

This word in other languages

pascua(Español)Pâques(Français)Ostern(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aester
  • easetr
  • easster
  • easterr
  • eastre
  • eastter
  • eatser
  • esater

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Easter - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

aester2easetr2easster1easterr1eastre2eastter1eatser2esater2
Edit distance from "Easter"

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 "Easter"?
"Easter" is spelled E-A-S-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈiːstə/.
What does "Easter" mean?
As a noun, "Easter" means: A Christian feast commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated on the first Sunday (and Monday) following the full moon that occurs on or next after the vernal equinox, ranging ...
What words are commonly confused with "Easter"?
"Easter" is commonly confused with "enter", "eaten", "eater". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Easter"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Easter" is /ˈiːstə/. 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 "Easter"?
The noun is derived from Middle English Ester, from Old English ēastre, seemingly from Ēastre, a proposed Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn whose festival is thought to have been celebrated around the vernal equinox. Further from Proto-West Germanic... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Easter", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

divide#5,876eleven#5,879entity#5,880colony#5,866

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

charm8 variantslinear8 variantstheft8 variantssealed8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list