ilex
"ilex" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ilex” is uncommon English (frequency #85,367 among 17,902 “I” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #85,367
- frequency rank, English
- 17,902
- “I” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Holm oak (Quercus ilex).
Corpus desk
Index EN-ilex · ilex · English
ilex · rank #85,367 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #85,367
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 17,902
- PHOTO-FINISH indecently
Nearest frequency peer: indecently (+3 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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “ilex”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- hypotensive
hypotensive
14,642 corpus weight
- idealize
idealize
14,641 corpus weight
- ilex
ilex
14,634 corpus weight
- indecently
indecently
14,631 corpus weight
- ineligibili…
ineligibility
14,629 corpus weight
- insidiously
insidiously
14,627 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “ilex” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ilex |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #85,367 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ilex” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
ilex is uncommon English at frequency #85,367 among 17,902 “I” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for ilex in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin ilex (“holm oak”). The correct English form is ilex, spelled I-L-E-X.
Definition
- 1Holm oak (Quercus ilex).
- 2Any of the numerous trees or shrubs of the genus Ilex.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin ilex (“holm oak”).
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "ilex"?
What does "ilex" mean?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ilex", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency 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.