ex officio
/ˌɛks əˈfɪʃioʊ/
"ex-officio" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ex officio” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - By virtue of the office that originated it, or of the title held.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ex officio |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | /ˌɛks əˈfɪʃioʊ/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ex officio” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
ex officio is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed /ˌɛks əˈfɪʃioʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "By virtue of the office that originated it, or of the title held.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for ex officio, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin ex officio (“by right of office”, literally “from the office”). The correct English form is ex officio, spelled E-X- -O-F-F-I-C-I-O.
Definition
- 1By virtue of the office that originated it, or of the title held.
Etymology
From Latin ex officio (“by right of office”, literally “from the office”).
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “ex officio”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-X- -O-F-F-I-C-I-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌɛks əˈfɪʃioʊ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.