# hamlet

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈhæm.lɪt/ · frequency rank #12,061

## Definitions
1. A small village or a group of houses.
2. A village that does not have its own church.
3. Any of the fish of the genus Hypoplectrus in the family Serranidae.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ḱey-
Proto-Indo-European *-mos
Proto-Indo-European *ḱóymos
Proto-Indo-European *tḱóymos
Proto-Germanic *haimaz
Frankish *haimbor.
Old French ham
Old French hamel
Old French hameletbor.
Middle English hamlet
English hamlet
From Middle English hamlet, hamelet, a borrowing from Old French hamelet, diminutive of Old French hamel, in turn diminutive of Old French ham, of Germanic origin, from Frankish *haim, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *haimaz (whence English home). Equivalent to Middle English ham (“home, village”) + -let (“small”).

## Easily confused with
- **hammer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hamlet-vs-hammer)
- **Harley** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hamlet-vs-harley)
- **Harlem** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hamlet-vs-harlem)
- **Hayley** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hamlet-vs-hayley)
- **hamper** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hamlet-vs-hamper)
- **Hanley** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hamlet-vs-hanley)
- **Hamlin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hamlet-vs-hamlin)
- **Hawley** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hamlet-vs-hawley)
- **harlot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hamlet-vs-harlot)
- **halt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/halt-vs-hamlet)
- **hale** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hale-vs-hamlet)
- **Haley** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/haley-vs-hamlet)
- **Halle** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/halle-vs-hamlet)
- **Hales** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hales-vs-hamlet)
- **Halen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/halen-vs-hamlet)
- **Hamer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hamer-vs-hamlet)
- **hailed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hailed-vs-hamlet)
- **Hadley** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hadley-vs-hamlet)
- **Hailey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hailey-vs-hamlet)
- **Halley** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/halley-vs-hamlet)

## Common misspellings (9)
`ahmlet`, `halmet`, `hamelt`, `hamlett`, `hamllet`, `hamlte`, `hammlet`, `hhamlet`, `hmalet`

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