icterus
"icterus" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“icterus” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An excess of bile pigments in the blood; jaundice.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | icterus |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “icterus” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
icterus is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
icterus has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From the Latin icterus, from the Ancient Greek ἴκτερος (íkteros, “jaundice”). The correct English form is icterus, spelled I-C-T-E-R-U-S.
Definition
- 1An excess of bile pigments in the blood; jaundice.
- 2A yellowish appearance in plants.
Etymology
From the Latin icterus, from the Ancient Greek ἴκτερος (íkteros, “jaundice”).
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “icterus”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-C-T-E-R-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.