fellow
/ˈfɛləʊ/
"fellow" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“fellow” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,791. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #1,791
- frequency rank, English
- 2,507
- “F” headwords
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 12
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A companion; a comrade.
Corpus desk
Index EN-fellow · fellow · English
fellow · rank #1,791 · 7 variants · 12 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #1,791
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 12 pairs
- VAR-MID 7 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,507
- PHOTO-FINISH easier
Nearest frequency peer: easier (-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 “fellow”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- connection
connection
98,213 corpus weight
- dress
dress
98,212 corpus weight
- easier
easier
98,211 corpus weight
- fellow
fellow
98,210 corpus weight
- Florida
Florida
98,209 corpus weight
- horse
horse
98,208 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “fellow” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | fellow |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈfɛləʊ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #1,791 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 12 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “fellow” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 7 spelling variants around fellow (IPA /ˈfɛləʊ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,791 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 31 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for fellow, with forms such as "efllow", "felloww", and "fellwo". 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 also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "flow", "felon", "Fells", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English felowe, Early Middle English felage (“companion, good friend”) from Old English fēolaga, from Old Norse félagi, derived from félag (“joint venture; partnership”, literally “a laying together of property”), from fé (“livestock, property; … The correct English form is fellow, spelled F-E-L-L-O-W.
Definition
- 1A companion; a comrade.
- 2An animal which is a member of a breed or species, or a flock, herd, etc.
- 3An object which is associated with another object; especially, as part of a set.
- 4A person or thing comparable in characteristics with another person or thing; especially, as belonging to the same class or group.
- 5A person or thing comparable in characteristics with another person or thing; especially, as belonging to the same class or group.
- 6A person or thing comparable in characteristics with another person or thing; especially, as belonging to the same class or group.
- 7A person or thing comparable in characteristics with another person or thing; especially, as belonging to the same class or group.
- 8A person or thing comparable in characteristics with another person or thing; especially, as belonging to the same class or group.
- 9Often in the form Fellow: academic senses.
- 10Often in the form Fellow: academic senses.
- 11Often in the form Fellow: academic senses.
- 12Often in the form Fellow: academic senses.
- 13Often in the form Fellow: academic senses.
- 14Often in the form Fellow: academic senses.
- 15Often in the form Fellow: academic senses.
- 16Often in the form Fellow: academic senses.
- 17A male person; a bloke, a chap, a guy, a man; also, preceded by a modifying word, sometimes with a sense of mild reproach: used as a familiar term of address to a man.
- 18Usually qualified by an adjective or used in the plural: an individual or person regardless of gender.
- 19An animal or object.
- 20One of a pair of things suited to each other or used together; a counterpart, a mate.
- 21One of a pair of things suited to each other or used together; a counterpart, a mate.
- 22Alternative form of fella (“used as a general intensifier”)
- 23A colleague or partner.
- 24A colleague or partner.
- 25A close companion or friend; also, a companion or friend whom one eats or drinks with.
- 26Followed by of: one who participates in an activity; a participant.
- 27A man without good breeding or of lower social status; a common or ignoble man; also, used as a polite term of address to such a person.
- 28A person's servant or slave.
- 29A worthless person; a churl, a knave; also, used as a term of address to a person regarded as such.
- 30Synonym of schoolmate (“a student at the same school”).
- 31A black man.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how fellow appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
But now vnderſtand you, that the kingdome of God is communicated vntoo you by our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, bycauſe he hath purchaced it for you, and made you his brethren and fellowes.
[W]e are Fellovves ſtill, / Seruing alike in ſorrovv: […]
Etymology
From Middle English felowe, Early Middle English felage (“companion, good friend”) from Old English fēolaga, from Old Norse félagi, derived from félag (“joint venture; partnership”, literally “a laying together of property”), from fé (“livestock, property; money”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- (“livestock; wealth”)) + lag (“something laid down; right position; arrangement; companionship, fellowship; partnership”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie down”)). Cognates * Old Norse filaga, felaka (“partner”, accusative singular), from which the other terms are derived: * Danish fælle (“companion”) * Faroese felagi (“member; partner”) * Icelandic félagi (“companion, comrade, fellow; member; partner”) * Norwegian felle (“companion”) * Old Swedish fälaghi (modern Swedish felaga, felaha (“partner”, accusative singular)) * Scots falow, fallow, follow (“associate, companion, comrade”)
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- efllow
- felloww
- fellwo
- felolw
- felow
- ffellow
- flelow
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of fellow - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "fellow", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "fellow". Here's where to go from here.
- "fellow" maps to 12 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "flow". View pair
- 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #1,791 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "F" letter cohort. F–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
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.