hymnal

/ˈhɪmnəl/

//ˈhɪmnəl// noun

"hymnal" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hymnal” is uncommon English (frequency #64,432 among 2,646 “H” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#64,432
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A collection of hymns; a hymn book.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hymnal · hymnal · English

hymnal · rank #64,432 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #64,432
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH Hutcheson

Nearest frequency peer: Hutcheson (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “hymnal”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “hymnal” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for hymnal
PropertyValue
Headwordhymnal
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhɪmnəl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#64,432
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “hymnal” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).hymnalfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Hutcheson” (#64,431), “hypothalamic” (#64,433), “ignoramus” (#64,435). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hymnal” is #64,432. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

hymnal is uncommon English at frequency #64,432 among 2,646 “H” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈhɪmnəl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A collection of hymns; a hymn book.".

No misspelling variants are generated for hymnal in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. 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 Middle English hymnale, from Medieval Latin hymnāle, noun use of neuter of hymnālis. The correct English form is hymnal, spelled H-Y-M-N-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A collection of hymns; a hymn book.

Etymology

From Middle English hymnale, from Medieval Latin hymnāle, noun use of neuter of hymnālis.

Synonyms

hymnaryhymnbookhymn-bookhymn book

This word in other languages

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 "hymnal"?
"hymnal" is spelled H-Y-M-N-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɪmnəl/.
What does "hymnal" mean?
As a noun, "hymnal" means: A collection of hymns; a hymn book.
How do you pronounce "hymnal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hymnal" is /ˈhɪmnəl/. 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 "hymnal"?
From Middle English hymnale, from Medieval Latin hymnāle, noun use of neuter of hymnālis. 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 "hymnal", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list