edify
/ˈɛdɪfaɪ/
"edify" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“edify” is uncommon English (frequency #99,211 among 2,246 “E” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #99,211
- frequency rank, English
- 2,246
- “E” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To build, construct.
Corpus desk
Index EN-edify · edify · English
edify · rank #99,211 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #99,211
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,246
- PHOTO-FINISH Duncombe
Nearest frequency peer: Duncombe (-3 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.
Long-tail ranks near “edify”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- druggy
druggy
797 corpus weight
- ducat
ducat
796 corpus weight
- Duncombe
Duncombe
793 corpus weight
- edify
edify
790 corpus weight
- eidetic
eidetic
786 corpus weight
- elusiveness
elusiveness
782 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “edify” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | edify |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈɛdɪfaɪ/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #99,211 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “edify” in English
Rare enough to double-check
edify is uncommon English at frequency #99,211 among 2,246 “E” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈɛdɪfaɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
edify has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French edifier (“to build, to edify”), from Latin aedificare (“build”). The correct English form is edify, spelled E-D-I-F-Y.
Definition
- 1To build, construct.
- 2To instruct or improve morally or intellectually.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how edify appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
That Castle was most goodly edifyde, / And plaste for pleasure nigh that forrest syde […]
January 23, 1783, Edward Gibbon, letter to Dr. Priestley It does not appear probable that our dispute [about miracles] would either edify or enlighten the public.
Etymology
From Old French edifier (“to build, to edify”), from Latin aedificare (“build”).
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "edify", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).