# heather

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈhɛðɚ/ · frequency rank #8,676

## Definitions
1. An evergreen plant, Calluna vulgaris, with spiky leaves and small purple, pink, or white flowers.
2. A plant in the family Ericaceae.
3. Various species of the genus Erica.
4. Various species of the genus Cassiope.
5. A purple colour with a tint of pink and blue.
6. The use of interwoven yarns of mixed colours to produce flecks.

## Etymology
From Middle English hather, hathir, from Old English *hǣddre and hǣþ (“heather”), cognate with Scots hedder, hadder, heddir (“heather”), Saterland Frisian Heede (“heather”), West Frisian heide (“heather”), Dutch heide (“heather”), German Low German Heide, Heid (“heather”), German Heide (“heather”).

## Easily confused with
- **Hester** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heather-vs-hester)
- **hither** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heather-vs-hither)
- **heavier** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heather-vs-heavier)
- **heath** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heath-vs-heather)
- **hater** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hater-vs-heather)
- **heated** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heated-vs-heather)
- **header** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/header-vs-heather)
- **heater** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heater-vs-heather)
- **healer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/healer-vs-heather)
- **hatter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hatter-vs-heather)
- **heathen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heathen-vs-heather)
- **hatcher** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hatcher-vs-heather)
- **heathens** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heathens-vs-heather)
- **healthier** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/healthier-vs-heather)

## Common misspellings (10)
`ehather`, `haether`, `heahter`, `heatehr`, `heatherr`, `heathher`, `heathre`, `heatther`, `hetaher`, `hheather`

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