ephemeris
/ɪˈfɛməɹɪs/
"ephemeris" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ephemeris” is uncommon English (frequency #86,248 among 2,246 “E” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #86,248
- frequency rank, English
- 2,246
- “E” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A journal or diary.
Corpus desk
Index EN-ephemeris · ephemeris · English
ephemeris · rank #86,248 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #86,248
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,246
- PHOTO-FINISH envying
Nearest frequency peer: envying (-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 “ephemeris”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- effed
effed
13,763 corpus weight
- engendering
engendering
13,757 corpus weight
- envying
envying
13,754 corpus weight
- ephemeris
ephemeris
13,753 corpus weight
- ERU
ERU
13,750 corpus weight
- ev'ry
ev'ry
13,745 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “ephemeris” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ephemeris |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɪˈfɛməɹɪs/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #86,248 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “ephemeris” in English
Rare enough to double-check
ephemeris is uncommon English at frequency #86,248 among 2,246 “E” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ɪˈfɛməɹɪs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
ephemeris has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From New Latin ephēmeris, from Ancient Greek ἐφημερίς (ephēmerís, “diary, calendar”), from ἐφήμερος (ephḗmeros, “daily”). The correct English form is ephemeris, spelled E-P-H-E-M-E-R-I-S.
Definition
- 1A journal or diary.
- 2A table giving the apparent position of celestial bodies throughout the year; normally given as right ascension and declination.
- 3Computer software that calculates the apparent position of celestial bodies.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how ephemeris appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Wee heard the King was solacing at the Caspian Sea, whither now wee are travelling. Till then let us keepe an Ephemerides or day-journey.
[…]Mr. Samuel got 150 pounds of bread, with a small quantity of rum and wine, also a quadrant and compass; but he was forbidden on pain of death to touch either map, ephemeris, book of astronomical observations, sextant, timekeeper, or any of my surveys or drawings.
Etymology
From New Latin ephēmeris, from Ancient Greek ἐφημερίς (ephēmerís, “diary, calendar”), from ἐφήμερος (ephḗmeros, “daily”).
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 "ephemeris", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).