emerald

/ˈɛm.(ə.)ɹəld/

//ˈɛm.(ə.)ɹəld// noun

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

"emerald" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“emerald” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,965. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,965
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of various green gemstones, especially a green transparent form of beryl, highly valued as a precious stone.

Corpus desk

Index EN-emerald · emerald · English

emerald · rank #12,965 · 10 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,965
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH electrons

Nearest frequency peer: electrons (-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 “emerald”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “emerald” 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).

emerald vs emerged
71% similar
emerald vs Esmeralda
67% similar

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

Key facts for emerald
PropertyValue
Headwordemerald
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɛm.(ə.)ɹəld/
Letters7
Frequency rank#12,965
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “emerald”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).emeraldlands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “electrons” (#12,964), “Elaine” (#12,963), “equilibrium” (#12,967). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “emerald” is #12,965. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around emerald (IPA /ˈɛm.(ə.)ɹəld/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,965 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for emerald, with forms such as "eemrald", "emearld", and "emeradl". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "emerged", "Esmeralda", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English emeraude, borrowed from Old French esmeraude, from Vulgar Latin *smaralda, *smaraldus, *smaraudus, variant of Latin smaragdus, from Ancient Greek σμάραγδος (smáragdos), μάραγδος (máragdos), from a Semitic language. Compare Hebrew בָּרֶקֶ… The correct English form is emerald, spelled E-M-E-R-A-L-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of various green gemstones, especially a green transparent form of beryl, highly valued as a precious stone.
  2. 2
    Emerald green, a colour.
  3. 3
    Vert, when blazoning by precious stones.
  4. 4
    Any hummingbird in the genera Chlorostilbon and Elvira; and some in the genus Amazilia
  5. 5
    Any of various species of dragonfly of the family Corduliidae.
  6. 6
    A size of type between nonpareil and minion, standardized as 6½-point.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Although there are dozens of different types of gems, among the best known and most important are diamond, ruby and sapphire, emerald and other gem forms of the mineral beryl, chrysoberyl, tanzanite, tsavorite, topaz and jade.
  2. 16. As the first. Crest, on a Mount Emerald, a Falcon rising Topaz.

Etymology

From Middle English emeraude, borrowed from Old French esmeraude, from Vulgar Latin *smaralda, *smaraldus, *smaraudus, variant of Latin smaragdus, from Ancient Greek σμάραγδος (smáragdos), μάραγδος (máragdos), from a Semitic language. Compare Hebrew בָּרֶקֶת (bāréqeṯ, “emerald, flashing gem”), Akkadian 𒁀𒊏𒄣 (baraqu, literally “scintillation”), Arabic بَرْق (barq, literally “flashing”), Egyptian bwyrqꜣ (literally “to sparkle”):D58-Z7-Z4:D21-N29-Z1-G1-D6 and loanwords with Semitic etymon such as Sanskrit मरकत (marakata).

Synonyms

smaragdminionette

This word in other languages

esmeralda(Español)émeraude(Français)Smaragd(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eemrald
  • emearld
  • emeradl
  • emeraldd
  • emeralld
  • emerlad
  • emerrald
  • emmerald
  • emreald
  • meerald

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of emerald - 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.

eemrald2emearld2emeradl2emeraldd1emeralld1emerlad2emerrald1emmerald1
Edit distance from "emerald"

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 "emerald"?
"emerald" is spelled E-M-E-R-A-L-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɛm.(ə.)ɹəld/.
What does "emerald" mean?
As a noun, "emerald" means: Any of various green gemstones, especially a green transparent form of beryl, highly valued as a precious stone.
What words are commonly confused with "emerald"?
"emerald" is commonly confused with "emerged", "Esmeralda". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "emerald"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "emerald" is /ˈɛm.(ə.)ɹəld/. 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 "emerald"?
From Middle English emeraude, borrowed from Old French esmeraude, from Vulgar Latin *smaralda, *smaraldus, *smaraudus, variant of Latin smaragdus, from Ancient Greek σμάραγδος (smáragdos), μάραγδος (máragdos), from a Semitic language. Compare Hebr... 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 "emerald", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

debated#12,954crimson#12,950Forrest#12,981cockpit#12,943

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

crypto10 variantsincurred10 variantsindoors10 variantscareless10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list