fetid
/ˈfɛtɪd/
"fetid" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“fetid” is uncommon English (frequency #67,442 among 2,507 “F” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #67,442
- frequency rank, English
- 2,507
- “F” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Foul-smelling, stinking.
Corpus desk
Index EN-fetid · fetid · English
fetid · rank #67,442 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #67,442
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,507
- PHOTO-FINISH fecundity
Nearest frequency peer: fecundity (-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.
Long-tail ranks near “fetid”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- falconry
falconry
32,565 corpus weight
- fanclub
fanclub
32,564 corpus weight
- fanservice
fanservice
32,562 corpus weight
- fecundity
fecundity
32,560 corpus weight
- fetid
fetid
32,559 corpus weight
- FICA
FICA
32,555 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “fetid” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | fetid |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈfɛtɪd/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #67,442 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “fetid” in English
Rare enough to double-check
fetid is uncommon English at frequency #67,442 among 2,507 “F” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈfɛtɪd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Foul-smelling, stinking.".
fetid has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin fētidus (“having offensive odour”), originally fēteō (“to stink”). The correct English form is fetid, spelled F-E-T-I-D.
Definition
- 1Foul-smelling, stinking.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how fetid appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
I caught the fetid odor of dirty socks.
[…] this room, where misfortune seems to ooze, where speculation lurks in corners, and of which Madame Vauquer inhales the warm, fetid air without being nauseated.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin fētidus (“having offensive odour”), originally fēteō (“to stink”).
This word in other languages
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 "fetid", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).