eldritch
/ˈɛl.dɹɪt͡ʃ/
"eldritch" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“eldritch” is an uncommon English word, ranked #63,588 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #63,588
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Unearthly, supernatural, eerie, preternatural.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | eldritch |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈɛl.dɹɪt͡ʃ/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #63,588 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “eldritch” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for eldritch is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɛl.dɹɪt͡ʃ/. Corpus data places it at rank #63,588 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Unearthly, supernatural, eerie, preternatural.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for eldritch, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From the earlier form elritch, of uncertain origin. The second element, -ritch, is generally taken to be Old English rīċe (“realm, kingdom”). Some think that the first element, el-, derives from an Old English root meaning “foreign, strange, other” (related… The correct English form is eldritch, spelled E-L-D-R-I-T-C-H.
Definition
- 1Unearthly, supernatural, eerie, preternatural.
Etymology
From the earlier form elritch, of uncertain origin. The second element, -ritch, is generally taken to be Old English rīċe (“realm, kingdom”). Some think that the first element, el-, derives from an Old English root meaning “foreign, strange, other” (related to Old English ellende and modern English else); others think that it derives from elf. It was reintroduced into popular literature by the writings of H. P. Lovecraft.
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 “eldritch”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-L-D-R-I-T-C-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɛl.dɹɪt͡ʃ/ (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
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.