gesso
/ˈd͡ʒɛsəʊ/
"gesso" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“gesso” is uncommon English (frequency #97,062 among 2,313 “G” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #97,062
- frequency rank, English
- 2,313
- “G” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A mixture of plaster of Paris and glue used to prepare a surface for painting.
Corpus desk
Index EN-gesso · gesso · English
gesso · rank #97,062 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #97,062
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,313
- PHOTO-FINISH geon
Nearest frequency peer: geon (-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 “gesso”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- gamecock
gamecock
2,946 corpus weight
- gamete
gamete
2,944 corpus weight
- geon
geon
2,940 corpus weight
- gesso
gesso
2,939 corpus weight
- Ginnie
Ginnie
2,937 corpus weight
- gloryhole
gloryhole
2,933 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “gesso” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | gesso |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈd͡ʒɛsəʊ/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #97,062 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “gesso” in English
Rare enough to double-check
gesso is uncommon English at frequency #97,062 among 2,313 “G” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈd͡ʒɛsəʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for gesso in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Italian gesso. Doublet of gypsum. Compare Portuguese gesso (“gypsum; plaster, cast”) and Spanish yeso (“gypsum; plaster, cast”). The correct English form is gesso, spelled G-E-S-S-O.
Definition
- 1A mixture of plaster of Paris and glue used to prepare a surface for painting.
- 2A work of art done in gesso.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how gesso appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
1994, Timothy Noad, Patricia Seligman, The Illuminated Alphabet, The Quarto Group (Chartwell Books), 2017, page 27, The combination of leaf gold and gesso is almost miraculous. No photographic reproduction can adequately show the brilliant effect of raised gesso.
To make the gesso, you need a chalk and a glue. During the Renaissance, gesso was made with gypsum, which is calcium sulphate. Terra Alba, available from art suppliers today, is a natural gypsum that makes a bright white gesso.
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian gesso. Doublet of gypsum. Compare Portuguese gesso (“gypsum; plaster, cast”) and Spanish yeso (“gypsum; plaster, cast”).
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "gesso", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).