friary

/ˈfɹaɪəɹi/

//ˈfɹaɪəɹi// noun

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

The verdict

“friary” is uncommon English (frequency #99,291 among 2,507 “F” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#99,291
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A house or convent where friars (members of certain religious communities) live.

Corpus desk

Index EN-friary · friary · English

friary · rank #99,291 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #99,291
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH fretful

Nearest frequency peer: fretful (-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 “friary”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “friary” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for friary
PropertyValue
Headwordfriary
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfɹaɪəɹi/
Letters6
Frequency rank#99,291
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “friary” in English

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “fretful” (#99,290), “Friesian” (#99,292), “frontally” (#99,294). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “friary” is #99,291. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

friary is uncommon English at frequency #99,291 among 2,507 “F” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈfɹaɪəɹi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A house or convent where friars (members of certain religious communities) live.".

Zero misspellings are on record for friary in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From friar (“brother in a religious order”) + -y (nominal suffix), from Latin frater (“brother”), from Latin. Piecewise doublet of fratery. The correct English form is friary, spelled F-R-I-A-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A house or convent where friars (members of certain religious communities) live.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. For this reason, Francis asked that part of the friary garden always be left untouched, so that wild flowers and herbs could grow there, and those who saw them could raise their minds to God, the Creator of such beauty.

Etymology

From friar (“brother in a religious order”) + -y (nominal suffix), from Latin frater (“brother”), from Latin. Piecewise doublet of fratery.

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

How do you spell "friary"?
"friary" is spelled F-R-I-A-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɹaɪəɹi/.
What does "friary" mean?
As a noun, "friary" means: A house or convent where friars (members of certain religious communities) live.
How do you pronounce "friary"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "friary" is /ˈfɹaɪəɹi/. 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 "friary"?
From friar (“brother in a religious order”) + -y (nominal suffix), from Latin frater (“brother”), from Latin. Piecewise doublet of fratery. 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 "friary", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list