February

/ˈfɛb.ɹʊ.ə.ɹi/

//ˈfɛb.ɹʊ.ə.ɹi// name

"february" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“February” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #990. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#990
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
12
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The short month following January and preceding March in the Roman, Julian, and Gregorian calendars, used in all three calendars for intercalation or addition of leap days.

Corpus desk

Index EN-february · February · English

February · rank #990 · 12 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #990
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH fans

Nearest frequency peer: fans (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “February”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “February” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for February
PropertyValue
HeadwordFebruary
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈfɛb.ɹʊ.ə.ɹi/
Letters8
Frequency rank#990
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “February”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).Februarylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “fans” (#989), “gives” (#991), “growth” (#992). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “February” is #990. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around February (IPA /ˈfɛb.ɹʊ.ə.ɹi/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #990 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for February, with forms such as "efbruary", "fberuary", and "febbruary". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰ-der. Latin februum Latin Februa Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āsios Latin -arius Latin Februāriusder. Middle English Februarie English February From Middle English Februarie, februari, februare, from… The correct English form is February, spelled F-E-B-R-U-A-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The short month following January and preceding March in the Roman, Julian, and Gregorian calendars, used in all three calendars for intercalation or addition of leap days.
  2. 2
    A female given name transferred from the month name [in turn from English].

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Holonyms: calendar year; year
  2. Susan was born on February 29.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰ-der. Latin februum Latin Februa Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āsios Latin -arius Latin Februāriusder. Middle English Februarie English February From Middle English Februarie, februari, februare, from Latin Februārius (“the month of the Februa”), from Februa (“the Purgings, the Purifications”), a Roman holiday two days after its ides (i.e., Feb. 15), + -arius (“-ary: forming adjectives”). Februa from februum (“purging”), from an earlier Sabine [Term?] word, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“smoke, haze”) and thus cognate with thio- (“sulfurous”) and Ancient Greek θεῖον (theîon, “sulfur”) or from Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰris, an extension of the root *dʰegʷʰ- (“to burn”) and thus cognate with fever and febris. A relatinization abandoning Middle English feoverel, from Old French feverier, which itself displaced Old English solmōnaþ (“mud month”).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • efbruary
  • fberuary
  • febbruary
  • febraury
  • febrruary
  • februarry
  • februaryy
  • februayr
  • februray
  • feburary
  • ferbuary
  • ffebruary

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of February - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

efbruary2fberuary2febbruary1febraury2febrruary1februarry1februaryy1februayr2
Edit distance from "February"

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 "February"?
"February" is spelled F-E-B-R-U-A-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɛb.ɹʊ.ə.ɹi/.
What does "February" mean?
As a proper noun, "February" means: The short month following January and preceding March in the Roman, Julian, and Gregorian calendars, used in all three calendars for intercalation or addition of leap days.
What are common misspellings of "February"?
Common misspellings include "efbruary", "fberuary", "febbruary", "febraury", "febrruary". The correct spelling is "February".
How do you pronounce "February"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "February" is /ˈfɛb.ɹʊ.ə.ɹi/. 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 "February"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰ-der. Latin februum Latin Februa Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āsios Latin -arius Latin Februāriusder. Middle English Februarie English February From Middle English Februarie, februari, febr... 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 "February", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list