gerontology

noun

"gerontology" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“gerontology” is uncommon English (frequency #52,961 among 18,276 “G” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,961
frequency rank, English
18,276
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The study of the elderly, and of the aging process itself.

Key facts for gerontology
PropertyValue
Headwordgerontology
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters11
Frequency rank#52,961
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “gerontology” 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). gerontology 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

gerontology is uncommon English at frequency #52,961 among 18,276 “G” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for gerontology, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From geronto- + -logy. The correct English form is gerontology, spelled G-E-R-O-N-T-O-L-O-G-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The study of the elderly, and of the aging process itself.
  2. 2
    The branch of science that deals with the problems of aged people. It is to be distinguished from geriatrics, which is the study of the diseases of the elderly. Gerontology covers the social, psychological and biological aspects of aging.

Etymology

From geronto- + -logy.

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 "gerontology"?
"gerontology" is spelled G-E-R-O-N-T-O-L-O-G-Y.
What does "gerontology" mean?
As a noun, "gerontology" means: The study of the elderly, and of the aging process itself.
What is the origin of the word "gerontology"?
From geronto- + -logy. 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 “gerontology”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is G-E-R-O-N-T-O-L-O-G-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • 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