handsbreadth
"handsbreadth" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“handsbreadth” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - a small distance
Corpus desk
Index EN-handsbreadth · handsbreadth · English
handsbreadth · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 12 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "H" 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | handsbreadth |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “handsbreadth” in English
Rare enough to double-check
handsbreadth is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "a small distance".
No generated misspelling entries exist for handsbreadth in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From hand + -s- + breadth. The correct English form is handsbreadth, spelled H-A-N-D-S-B-R-E-A-D-T-H.
Definition
- 1a small distance
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how handsbreadth appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The provinces of Holland and Zealand were stanch and true, but the inequality of the contest between a few brave men, upon that handsbreadth of territory, and the powerful Spanish Empire, seemed to render the issue hopeless.
As a child, having thrust away the mother's guiding hand and hidden its face against the wall, may fancy itself alone and forgotten, until, turning with a cry, it finds around it the protecting mother-arms that were never but a handsbreadth away; so does man in his wilfulness push away the shielding arms of the divine Mother of the worlds, only to find, w…
Etymology
From hand + -s- + breadth.
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.