goombah
/ˈɡumbɑ/
"goombah" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“goombah” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A person of Italian descent (often implies the person is connected to Italian organized crime)
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | goombah |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɡumbɑ/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “goombah” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for goombah is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɡumbɑ/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No generated misspelling entries exist for goombah in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. 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 Neapolitan cumpà and Sicilian cumpari (“buddy, pal”, akin to Italian compare, Spanish compadre, from Latin compater, literally “godfather”), a word often used to refer to “family friends” or friends close enough to be considered an “aunt” or “uncle”, t… The correct English form is goombah, spelled G-O-O-M-B-A-H.
Definition
- 1A person of Italian descent (often implies the person is connected to Italian organized crime)
- 2A companion, pal, close friend, or associate, especially among Italian-American men. It sometimes has the connotation of an older friend who acts as a patron, protector or adviser.
Etymology
From Neapolitan cumpà and Sicilian cumpari (“buddy, pal”, akin to Italian compare, Spanish compadre, from Latin compater, literally “godfather”), a word often used to refer to “family friends” or friends close enough to be considered an “aunt” or “uncle”, though not related by blood. To an English-speaking ear, the unaspirated stops of Southern Italian dialects (especially Neapolitan) are interpreted as voiced stops, yielding goombah. Compare South American Spanish cumpa. Doublet of compadre, compeer, and compere.
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
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Using “goombah”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-O-O-M-B-A-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɡumbɑ/ (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
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.