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ephraim

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

7 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "ephraim", 7-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Wiktionary, and usage frequency ranked against an open word-frequency list covering the top 100,000 English words. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "ephraim" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "ephraim" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

Ephraim is aEnglishname. It means: The younger son of Joseph in the Bible, eponymous ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Pronounced /ˈifɹi.əm/.

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Key facts for Ephraim
PropertyValue
HeadwordEphraim
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechName
IPA/ˈifɹi.əm/
Letters7
Frequency rank#28,190
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of Ephraim in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for Ephraim is 7 letters long, classified as aname, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈifɹi.əm/. Corpus data places it at rank #28,190 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 3 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 Ephraim, with forms such as "ehpraim", "epharim", and "ephhraim". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.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 Hebrew אֶפְרַיִם (Efráyim, “Ephraim”, literally “fruitful”), via Latin. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is Ephraim, spelled E-P-H-R-A-I-M, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    The younger son of Joseph in the Bible, eponymous ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
  2. 2
    A male given name from Hebrew.
  3. 3
    A hunter's name for the grizzly bear.

Etymology

From Hebrew אֶפְרַיִם (Efráyim, “Ephraim”, literally “fruitful”), via Latin.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ehpraim,epharim,ephhraim,ephraimm,ephrami,ephriam,ephrraim,epphraim,eprhaim,pehraim

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for Ephraim

Misspelling Variants of "Ephraim"

ehpraim7epharim7ephhraim8ephraimm8ephrami7ephriam7ephrraim8epphraim8
Misspelling Variants of "Ephraim"

Frequency rank: #28,190 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Ephraim"?
"Ephraim" is spelled E-P-H-R-A-I-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈifɹi.əm/.
What does "Ephraim" mean?
As a name, "Ephraim" means: The younger son of Joseph in the Bible, eponymous ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
What are common misspellings of "Ephraim"?
Common misspellings include "ehpraim", "epharim", "ephhraim", "ephraimm", "ephrami". The correct spelling is "Ephraim".
How do you pronounce "Ephraim"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Ephraim" is /ˈifɹi.əm/. 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 "Ephraim"?
From Hebrew אֶפְרַיִם (Efráyim, “Ephraim”, literally “fruitful”), via Latin. 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter E in our English index:

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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.