hysteresis
"hysteresis" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hysteresis” is uncommon English (frequency #62,210 among 23,837 “H” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #62,210
- frequency rank, English
- 23,837
- “H” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A property of a system such that an output value is not a strict function of the corresponding input, but also incorporates some lag, delay, or history dependence, and in particular when the respon...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hysteresis |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #62,210 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “hysteresis” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
hysteresis is uncommon English at frequency #62,210 among 23,837 “H” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for hysteresis, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Coined by Sir James Alfred Ewing from Ancient Greek ὑστέρησις (hustérēsis, “shortcoming”), from ὑστερέω (husteréō, “I am late, fall short”), from ὕστερος (hústeros, “later”). By surface analysis, hyster- (“higher, outer, latter, next”) + -esis. The correct English form is hysteresis, spelled H-Y-S-T-E-R-E-S-I-S.
Definition
- 1A property of a system such that an output value is not a strict function of the corresponding input, but also incorporates some lag, delay, or history dependence, and in particular when the response for a decrease in the input variable is different from the response for an increase. For example, a thermostat with a nominal setpoint of 75° might switch the controlled heat source on when the temperature drops below 74°, and off when it rises above 76°.
- 2Magnetic friction in dynamos, by which every reversal of magnetism in the iron causes dissipation of energy.
Etymology
Coined by Sir James Alfred Ewing from Ancient Greek ὑστέρησις (hustérēsis, “shortcoming”), from ὑστερέω (husteréō, “I am late, fall short”), from ὕστερος (hústeros, “later”). By surface analysis, hyster- (“higher, outer, latter, next”) + -esis.
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
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Using “hysteresis”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is H-Y-S-T-E-R-E-S-I-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.