friary

/ˈfɹaɪəɹi/

//ˈfɹaɪəɹi// noun

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

The verdict

“friary” is uncommon English (frequency #99,291 among 18,613 “F” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#99,291
frequency rank, English
18,613
“F” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A house or convent where friars (members of certain religious communities) live.

Key facts for friary
PropertyValue
Headwordfriary
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfɹaɪəɹi/
Letters6
Frequency rank#99,291
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “friary” 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). friary lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

friary is uncommon English at frequency #99,291 among 18,613 “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.

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.

Using “friary”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is F-R-I-A-R-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈfɹaɪəɹi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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