fetish

/ˈfɛt.ɪʃ/

//ˈfɛt.ɪʃ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"fetish" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fetish” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #13,149 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#13,149
frequency rank, English
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Something which is believed to possess, contain, or cause spiritual or magical powers; an amulet or a talisman.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

fetish vs fish
67% similar
fetish vs fetus
67% similar
fetish vs finish
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for fetish
PropertyValue
Headwordfetish
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfɛt.ɪʃ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#13,149
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “fetish” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). fetish lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for fetish is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈfɛt.ɪʃ/. Corpus data places it at rank #13,149 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for fetish, with forms such as "eftish", "feitsh", and "fetihs". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "fish", "fetus", "finish", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁k-yé-ti Proto-Italic *θakjō Proto-Italic *fakjō Latin faciō Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Italic *-tos Latin -tus Latin factus Latin -īcius Latin factīcius Portuguese feitiçobor. Fren… The correct English form is fetish, spelled F-E-T-I-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Something which is believed to possess, contain, or cause spiritual or magical powers; an amulet or a talisman.
  2. 2
    A figure representing the spirit of a deity, human, or animal; an idol or voodoo doll.
  3. 3
    Sexual fixation to or arousal at something abnormally sexual or nonsexual, such as an object or a nonsexual part of the body.
  4. 4
    An irrational or abnormal preoccupation or fixation on some object or activity; an obsession.
  5. 5
    A recurrent theme of a specific thing.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁k-yé-ti Proto-Italic *θakjō Proto-Italic *fakjō Latin faciō Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Italic *-tos Latin -tus Latin factus Latin -īcius Latin factīcius Portuguese feitiçobor. French fétichebor. English fetish Borrowed from French fétiche, from Portuguese feitiço, from Latin factīcius (“artificial”). Doublet of factitious.

This word in other languages

fetiche(Español)fétiche(Français)Fetisch(Deutsch)fetiche(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: eftish,feitsh,fetihs,fetishh,fetissh,fetsih,fettish,ffetish,fteish

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of fetish - 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.

eftish2feitsh2fetihs2fetishh1fetissh1fetsih2fettish1ffetish1
Edit distance from "fetish"

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 "fetish"?
"fetish" is spelled F-E-T-I-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɛt.ɪʃ/.
What does "fetish" mean?
As a noun, "fetish" means: Something which is believed to possess, contain, or cause spiritual or magical powers; an amulet or a talisman.
What words are commonly confused with "fetish"?
"fetish" is commonly confused with "fish", "fetus", "finish". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fetish"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fetish" is /ˈfɛt.ɪʃ/. 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 "fetish"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁k-yé-ti Proto-Italic *θakjō Proto-Italic *fakjō Latin faciō Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Italic *-tos Latin -tus Latin factus Latin -īcius Latin factīcius Portuguese feitiç... 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.

Using “fetish”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is F-E-T-I-S-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈfɛt.ɪʃ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “fish” - see the side-by-side comparison. fetish vs fish
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list