glottis

/ˈɡlɒt.ɪs/

//ˈɡlɒt.ɪs// noun

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

The verdict

“glottis” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The opening between the true vocal cords which is located in the larynx and affects voice modulation through expansion or contraction.

Corpus desk

Index EN-glottis · glottis · English

glottis · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "G" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for glottis
PropertyValue
Headwordglottis
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɡlɒt.ɪs/
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “glottis” in English

glottisranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

glottis is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɡlɒt.ɪs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The opening between the true vocal cords which is located in the larynx and affects voice modulation through expansion or contraction.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for glottis in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Late 16th century borrowing from New Latin glōttis, from Ancient Greek γλωττῐ́ς (glōttĭ́s, “mouth of the windpipe”), from γλῶττᾰ (glôttă, “tongue”) + -ῐς (-ĭs, feminine noun suffix). Cognates include Latin gula. The correct English form is glottis, spelled G-L-O-T-T-I-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The opening between the true vocal cords which is located in the larynx and affects voice modulation through expansion or contraction.

Etymology

Late 16th century borrowing from New Latin glōttis, from Ancient Greek γλωττῐ́ς (glōttĭ́s, “mouth of the windpipe”), from γλῶττᾰ (glôttă, “tongue”) + -ῐς (-ĭs, feminine noun suffix). Cognates include Latin gula.

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "glottis"?
"glottis" is spelled G-L-O-T-T-I-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡlɒt.ɪs/.
What does "glottis" mean?
As a noun, "glottis" means: The opening between the true vocal cords which is located in the larynx and affects voice modulation through expansion or contraction.
How do you pronounce "glottis"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "glottis" is /ˈɡlɒt.ɪs/. 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 "glottis"?
Late 16th century borrowing from New Latin glōttis, from Ancient Greek γλωττῐ́ς (glōttĭ́s, “mouth of the windpipe”), from γλῶττᾰ (glôttă, “tongue”) + -ῐς (-ĭs, feminine noun suffix). Cognates include Latin gula. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list