# Halloween

> English word · Proper noun · IPA /ˌha.ləˈwiːn/ · frequency rank #5,500

## Definitions
1. The eve of All Hallows' Day; October 31st; celebrated (mostly in English-speaking countries) by children going door-to-door in costume and soliciting candy with menaces.

## Etymology
A Scottish shortening of Allhalloweven, from Allhallowmas (the obsolete earlier name of All Saints' Day) + even (an archaic or poetic variant of eve; see also een).
For the American pronunciation with /ɑ/, compare the Southern English traditional dialect pronunciations fallow /ˈfɒ.lə/ and tallow /ˈtɒ.lə/.

## Easily confused with
- **hallowed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hallowed-vs-halloween)

## Common misspellings (11)
`ahlloween`, `halloewen`, `halloweenn`, `hallowen`, `hallowene`, `hallowween`, `hallwoeen`, `halolween`, `haloween`, `hhalloween`, `hlaloween`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/halloween