Fagin
/ˈfeɪɡɪn/
"fagin" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Fagin” is uncommon English (frequency #67,432 among 2,507 “F” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #67,432
- frequency rank, English
- 2,507
- “F” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who entices children into criminal activity, often teaching them how to conduct those crimes, and profits from their crimes in return for support.
Corpus desk
Index EN-fagin · Fagin · English
Fagin · rank #67,432 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #67,432
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,507
- PHOTO-FINISH factionalism
Nearest frequency peer: factionalism (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “Fagin”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- fabricator
fabricator
32,572 corpus weight
- facemask
facemask
32,571 corpus weight
- factionalism
factionalism
32,570 corpus weight
- Fagin
Fagin
32,569 corpus weight
- fah
fah
32,568 corpus weight
- Fahd
Fahd
32,567 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “Fagin” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Fagin |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈfeɪɡɪn/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #67,432 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Fagin” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
Fagin is uncommon English at frequency #67,432 among 2,507 “F” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈfeɪɡɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A person who entices children into criminal activity, often teaching them how to conduct those crimes, and profits from their crimes in return for support.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for Fagin, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From the character named Fagin in Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist. The correct English form is Fagin, spelled F-A-G-I-N.
Definition
- 1A person who entices children into criminal activity, often teaching them how to conduct those crimes, and profits from their crimes in return for support.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how Fagin appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The indignation of the self-respecting deaf is aroused by the fact that nine-tenths of the mendicant peddling is engineered by slick Fagins who teach inexperienced deaf youths the tricks of the trade and then collect the lion's share of the profits.
We sort of treat a situation whereby the proprietor or operator or person running a foster home, if he were to make a profit, we sort of regard him as sort of a Fagin because he has been making money off little kids.
Etymology
From the character named Fagin in Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist.
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 "Fagin", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
What to do next
You've looked up "Fagin". Here's where to go from here.
- Usage frequency rank #67,432 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "F" letter cohort. F–Z browse
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PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.