imago
/ɪˈmeɪɡəʊ/
"imago" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“imago” is an uncommon English word, ranked #64,437 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #64,437
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The final developmental stage of an insect after undergoing metamorphosis.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | imago |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɪˈmeɪɡəʊ/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #64,437 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “imago” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for imago is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪˈmeɪɡəʊ/. Corpus data places it at rank #64,437 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Zero misspellings are on record for imago in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin imāgō. Doublet of image. Compare typologically a Russian term for coordinate larva: личи́нка (ličínka) (akin to лик (lik)). The correct English form is imago, spelled I-M-A-G-O.
Definition
- 1The final developmental stage of an insect after undergoing metamorphosis.
- 2An idealised concept of a loved one, formed in childhood and retained unconsciously into adult life, the basis for the psychological formation of personality archetypes.
Etymology
From Latin imāgō. Doublet of image. Compare typologically a Russian term for coordinate larva: личи́нка (ličínka) (akin to лик (lik)).
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 “imago”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-M-A-G-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪˈmeɪɡəʊ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.