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” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #12,965 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#12,965
frequency rank, English
7
letters
10
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of various green gemstones, especially a green transparent form of beryl, highly valued as a precious stone.

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)

Where “emerald” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for emerald is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɛm.(ə.)ɹəld/. Corpus data places it at rank #12,965 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

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.

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.

Using “emerald”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is E-M-E-R-A-L-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈɛm.(ə.)ɹəld/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “emerged” - see the side-by-side comparison. emerald vs emerged
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list