ecphoneme

noun

"ecphoneme" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ecphoneme” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An exclamation mark.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ecphoneme · ecphoneme · English

ecphoneme · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "E" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for ecphoneme
PropertyValue
Headwordecphoneme
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “ecphoneme” in English

ecphonemefalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

ecphoneme is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An exclamation mark.".

No misspelling variants are generated for ecphoneme in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct English form is ecphoneme, spelled E-C-P-H-O-N-E-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An exclamation mark.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. 1858, Goold Brown, The Grammar of English Grammars, fourth edition, Samuel S. and William Wood, page 800, The Ecphoneme, or Note of Exclamation, is used to denote а pause with some strong emotion of admiration, joy, grief, or other feeling; and, as a sign of great wonder, it is sometimes, though not very elegantly, repeated […]
  2. The note of exclamation or ecphoneme is used after a word or phrase to express sudden emotion, and is sometimes repeated for emphasis.

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ecphoneme"?
"ecphoneme" is spelled E-C-P-H-O-N-E-M-E.
What does "ecphoneme" mean?
As a noun, "ecphoneme" means: An exclamation mark.
What language does "ecphoneme" come from?
"ecphoneme" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list