Hercules

/ˈhɜːkjəliːz/

//ˈhɜːkjəliːz// name

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

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

The verdict

“Hercules” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,988. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,988
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
12
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The Roman name for the Greek divine hero Heracles, who was the son of Jupiter and Alcmene, a celebrated hero who possessed exceptional strength. Most famous for his twelve labours performed to rede...

Corpus desk

Index EN-hercules · Hercules · English

Hercules · rank #12,988 · 12 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,988
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hereby

Nearest frequency peer: hereby (+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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Hercules”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “Hercules” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Hercules
PropertyValue
HeadwordHercules
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈhɜːkjəliːz/
Letters8
Frequency rank#12,988
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Hercules”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).Herculeslands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “hereby” (#12,989), “hale” (#12,986), “Honduras” (#12,990). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “Hercules” is #12,988. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around Hercules (IPA /ˈhɜːkjəliːz/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #12,988 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for Hercules, with forms such as "ehrcules", "hecrules", and "herccules". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin Herculēs, from Etruscan 𐌇𐌄𐌓𐌂𐌋𐌄 (hercle), from Ancient Greek Ἡρακλῆς (Hēraklês), apparently cognate of Ἥρα (Hḗra, “Hera”) and, according to Haudry, from Proto-Indo-European *yóh₁r̥ (“year, season”) + κλέος (kléos, “glory”). The correct English form is Hercules, spelled H-E-R-C-U-L-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The Roman name for the Greek divine hero Heracles, who was the son of Jupiter and Alcmene, a celebrated hero who possessed exceptional strength. Most famous for his twelve labours performed to redeem himself after killing his family.
  2. 2
    A summer constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble the mythical hero, lying between the constellations Lyra and Corona Borealis.
  3. 3
    A crater in the first quadrant on the moon.
  4. 4
    A male given name from Ancient Greek.
  5. 5
    A city in Contra Costa County, California, United States.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. THere were many Hercules'''’s, but (as Tully ſays, de Nat. Deor. lib. 3.) the famous Actions of them all are aſcrib’d to him who was the Son of Jupiter, by Alcmena, the Wife of Amphitryo King of Thebes.
  2. THere were many Hercules'''’s amongſt the Antients; Varro enumerates Forty four. The moſt famous were, Hercules Marguſanus, Hercules Ogmius, who was the Symbol of Eloquence amongſt the Gauls; Hercules Pollens, Hercules Thebanus, firſt called Alcides, Hercules' Tyrius, or Egyptian; and there were two of them; the Elder called Melicarthus, or Eſau, the Foun…

Etymology

From Latin Herculēs, from Etruscan 𐌇𐌄𐌓𐌂𐌋𐌄 (hercle), from Ancient Greek Ἡρακλῆς (Hēraklês), apparently cognate of Ἥρα (Hḗra, “Hera”) and, according to Haudry, from Proto-Indo-European *yóh₁r̥ (“year, season”) + κλέος (kléos, “glory”).

Synonyms

Hercules

This word in other languages

Hércules(Español)Hercule(Français)Herkules(Deutsch)Hércules(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ehrcules
  • hecrules
  • herccules
  • herclues
  • hercuels
  • herculess
  • herculles
  • herculse
  • herrcules
  • herucles
  • hhercules
  • hrecules

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Hercules - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ehrcules2hecrules2herccules1herclues2hercuels2herculess1herculles1herculse2
Edit distance from "Hercules"

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 "Hercules"?
"Hercules" is spelled H-E-R-C-U-L-E-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɜːkjəliːz/.
What does "Hercules" mean?
As a proper noun, "Hercules" means: The Roman name for the Greek divine hero Heracles, who was the son of Jupiter and Alcmene, a celebrated hero who possessed exceptional strength. Most famous for his twelve labours performed to rede...
What are common misspellings of "Hercules"?
Common misspellings include "ehrcules", "hecrules", "herccules", "herclues", "hercuels". The correct spelling is "Hercules".
How do you pronounce "Hercules"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Hercules" is /ˈhɜːkjəliːz/. 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 "Hercules"?
From Latin Herculēs, from Etruscan 𐌇𐌄𐌓𐌂𐌋𐌄 (hercle), from Ancient Greek Ἡρακλῆς (Hēraklês), apparently cognate of Ἥρα (Hḗra, “Hera”) and, according to Haudry, from Proto-Indo-European *yóh₁r̥ (“year, season”) + κλέος (kléos, “glory”). 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 "Hercules", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Honduras#12,990humorous#12,992incurred#12,994flawless#12,979

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

Kathleen12 variantscheerful12 variantscerebral12 variantspraising12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list