endive

/ˈɛndaɪv/

//ˈɛndaɪv// noun

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

"endive" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“endive” is uncommon English (frequency #91,470 among 2,246 “E” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#91,470
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A leafy salad vegetable, Cichorium endivia, which is often confused with common chicory (Cichorium intybus).

Corpus desk

Index EN-endive · endive · English

endive · rank #91,470 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #91,470
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH Englishness

Nearest frequency peer: Englishness (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “endive”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “endive” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for endive
PropertyValue
Headwordendive
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɛndaɪv/
Letters6
Frequency rank#91,470
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “endive” in English

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

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “Englishness” (#91,471), “ellipsoidal” (#91,468), “Enna” (#91,472). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “endive” is #91,470. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

endive is uncommon English at frequency #91,470 among 2,246 “E” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɛndaɪv/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A leafy salad vegetable, Cichorium endivia, which is often confused with common chicory (Cichorium intybus).".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for endive, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French endive, from Medieval Latin endivia or Italian indivia~endivia, from Byzantine Greek ἐντύβιον (entúbion), from Latin intibus (which see). The ultimate source is likely Semitic. The correct English form is endive, spelled E-N-D-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A leafy salad vegetable, Cichorium endivia, which is often confused with common chicory (Cichorium intybus).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. When all this is ready, take some endive and Dutch lettuce, some chervil and celery, wash and drain them very well, cut them small, put them into a saucepan, and pour some of the broth upon them […]
  2. Take the three heads of endive out of the water, drain them, and leave the largest whole.

Etymology

From Middle French endive, from Medieval Latin endivia or Italian indivia~endivia, from Byzantine Greek ἐντύβιον (entúbion), from Latin intibus (which see). The ultimate source is likely Semitic.

This word in other languages

escarola(Español)laitue romaine(Français)Endivie(Deutsch)endívia(Português)

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 "endive"?
"endive" is spelled E-N-D-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɛndaɪv/.
What does "endive" mean?
As a noun, "endive" means: A leafy salad vegetable, Cichorium endivia, which is often confused with common chicory (Cichorium intybus).
How do you pronounce "endive"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "endive" is /ˈɛndaɪv/. 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 "endive"?
From Middle French endive, from Medieval Latin endivia or Italian indivia~endivia, from Byzantine Greek ἐντύβιον (entúbion), from Latin intibus (which see). The ultimate source is likely Semitic. 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 "endive", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

elapse#91,465faired#91,486faller#91,487fennec#91,495

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list