FORTRAN

name

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

"fortran" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“FORTRAN” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #42,140. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#42,140
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Alternative letter-case form of Fortran, particularly its early forms.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fortran · FORTRAN · English

FORTRAN · rank #42,140 · 11 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #42,140
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH frontrunner

Nearest frequency peer: frontrunner (+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 “FORTRAN”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “FORTRAN” 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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

FORTRAN vs foreman
0% similar

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

Key facts for FORTRAN
PropertyValue
HeadwordFORTRAN
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
Letters7
Frequency rank#42,140
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “FORTRAN”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).FORTRANlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “frontrunner” (#42,141), “flathead” (#42,138), “frowns” (#42,142). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “FORTRAN” is #42,140. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around FORTRAN, aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #42,140 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Alternative letter-case form of Fortran, particularly its early forms.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for FORTRAN, with forms such as "ffortran", "forrtan", and "forrtran". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "foreman", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is FORTRAN, spelled F-O-R-T-R-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Alternative letter-case form of Fortran, particularly its early forms.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. The brothers wrote the machine’s application software in FORTRAN, a programming language that is “a dinosaur from the late fifties,” Gregory said, adding, “There is always new life in this dinosaur.”

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ffortran
  • forrtan
  • forrtran
  • fortarn
  • fortrann
  • fortrna
  • fortrran
  • forttran
  • fotrran
  • frotran
  • ofrtran

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of FORTRAN - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ffortran1forrtan2forrtran1fortarn2fortrann1fortrna2fortrran1forttran1
Edit distance from "FORTRAN"

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 "FORTRAN"?
"FORTRAN" is spelled F-O-R-T-R-A-N.
What does "FORTRAN" mean?
As a proper noun, "FORTRAN" means: Alternative letter-case form of Fortran, particularly its early forms.
What words are commonly confused with "FORTRAN"?
"FORTRAN" is commonly confused with "foreman". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What language does "FORTRAN" come from?
"FORTRAN" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "FORTRAN", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

flanker#42,137fuchsia#42,145Fukuoka#42,146Geraldo#42,150

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

Fibonacci11 variantsglittery11 variantshooligan11 variantsdateline11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list