grimoire

/ˈɡɹɪmwɑː/

//ˈɡɹɪmwɑː// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"grimoire" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“grimoire” is uncommon English (frequency #65,159 among 2,313 “G” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#65,159
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A book of instructions in the use of alchemy or magic, especially one containing spells for summoning demons.

Corpus desk

Index EN-grimoire · grimoire · English

grimoire · rank #65,159 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #65,159
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH grizz

Nearest frequency peer: grizz (+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 “grimoire”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “grimoire” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for grimoire
PropertyValue
Headwordgrimoire
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɡɹɪmwɑː/
Letters8
Frequency rank#65,159
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “grimoire” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).grimoirefalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “grizz” (#65,160), “grav” (#65,156), “grandly” (#65,155). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “grimoire” is #65,159. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

grimoire is uncommon English at frequency #65,159 among 2,313 “G” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɡɹɪmwɑː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A book of instructions in the use of alchemy or magic, especially one containing spells for summoning demons.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for grimoire in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword 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: Borrowed from French grimoire, a variant of grammaire, from Old French gramaire (“grammar; grimoire; conjurer, magician”), from Latin grammatica (“grammar; philology”), from grammaticus (“relating to grammar, grammatical”), from Ancient Greek γρᾰμμᾰτῐκός (g… The correct English form is grimoire, spelled G-R-I-M-O-I-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A book of instructions in the use of alchemy or magic, especially one containing spells for summoning demons.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how grimoire appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. There is something exceedingly unpleasant in being obliged to answer "No," to a traveller's "Pray, Sir, were you ever abroad?" and to sit mum-chance all the time that he is running over the "grimoire" of outlandish technicalities. For my own part, I am convinced that man is, par excellence, a travelling animal; [...]
  2. One day, a curate of the neighbourhood of Bayeux, who kept up a constant intercourse with the devil, left his grimoire thoughtlessly on the table. His domestic, a lad who was very curious, had long sought an opportunity to open the mysterious book. [...] Scarcely had he pronounced a certain word, which presented itself accidentally to his eyes, when the d…

Etymology

Borrowed from French grimoire, a variant of grammaire, from Old French gramaire (“grammar; grimoire; conjurer, magician”), from Latin grammatica (“grammar; philology”), from grammaticus (“relating to grammar, grammatical”), from Ancient Greek γρᾰμμᾰτῐκός (grămmătĭkós, “knowing one's letters; concerned with textual criticism”), from γράμμα (grámma, “that which is drawn or written; letter; book, writing”) + -ῐκός (-ĭkós, suffix added to noun stems to form adjectives). γράμμα is derived from γρᾰ́φω (grắphō, “to cut into, scratch; to draw, paint; to write”, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- (“to carve”)) + -μᾰ (-mă, suffix added to verbal stems forming neuter nouns denoting the result of, a particular instance of, or the object of an action). The English word is a doublet of glamour, glamoury, gramarye, and grammar.

This word in other languages

grimorio(Español)grimoire(Français)Grimoire(Deutsch)

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 "grimoire"?
"grimoire" is spelled G-R-I-M-O-I-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡɹɪmwɑː/.
What does "grimoire" mean?
As a noun, "grimoire" means: A book of instructions in the use of alchemy or magic, especially one containing spells for summoning demons.
How do you pronounce "grimoire"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "grimoire" is /ˈɡɹɪmwɑː/. 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 "grimoire"?
Borrowed from French grimoire, a variant of grammaire, from Old French gramaire (“grammar; grimoire; conjurer, magician”), from Latin grammatica (“grammar; philology”), from grammaticus (“relating to grammar, grammatical”), from Ancient Greek γρᾰμ... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "grimoire", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

gingival#65,143footings#65,125fivefold#65,118Kennebec#65,234

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list