infancy

/ˈɪnfənsi/

//ˈɪnfənsi// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"infancy" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“infancy” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,641. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,641
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The earliest period of childhood (crawling rather than walking).

Corpus desk

Index EN-infancy · infancy · English

infancy · rank #17,641 · 11 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #17,641
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH incremental

Nearest frequency peer: incremental (-2 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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “infancy”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “infancy” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

infancy vs infant
71% similar
infancy vs infants
71% similar
infancy vs infantry
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for infancy
PropertyValue
Headwordinfancy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɪnfənsi/
Letters7
Frequency rank#17,641
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “infancy”

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).infancylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “incremental” (#17,639), “inhibitor” (#17,643), “imprint” (#17,638). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “infancy” is #17,641. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around infancy (IPA /ˈɪnfənsi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #17,641 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for infancy, with forms such as "ifnancy", "inafncy", and "infacny". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "infant", "infants", "infantry", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English infancie, from Latin īnfantia (“infancy, early childhood; childishness”), equivalent to infant + -cy. The correct English form is infancy, spelled I-N-F-A-N-C-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The earliest period of childhood (crawling rather than walking).
  2. 2
    The state of being an infant.
  3. 3
    An early stage in the development of anything.
  4. 4
    The state of being a minor.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how infancy appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Space tourism is still in its infancy.
  2. It was in November, 1932, in an endeavour to reduce working costs, that the first diesel railcar was introduced, and it was a far-sighted move on the part of Mr. D. N. McClure, for diesel propulsion on railways was then more or less in its infancy.

Etymology

From Middle English infancie, from Latin īnfantia (“infancy, early childhood; childishness”), equivalent to infant + -cy.

Synonyms

infanthoodbabyhoodbabyship

This word in other languages

Anfangsphase(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ifnancy
  • inafncy
  • infacny
  • infanccy
  • infancyy
  • infanncy
  • infanyc
  • inffancy
  • infnacy
  • innfancy
  • nifancy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of infancy - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ifnancy2inafncy2infacny2infanccy1infancyy1infanncy1infanyc2inffancy1
Edit distance from "infancy"

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 "infancy"?
"infancy" is spelled I-N-F-A-N-C-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɪnfənsi/.
What does "infancy" mean?
As a noun, "infancy" means: The earliest period of childhood (crawling rather than walking).
What words are commonly confused with "infancy"?
"infancy" is commonly confused with "infant", "infants", "infantry". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "infancy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "infancy" is /ˈɪnfənsi/. 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 "infancy"?
From Middle English infancie, from Latin īnfantia (“infancy, early childhood; childishness”), equivalent to infant + -cy. 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 "infancy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

imprint#17,638inquire#17,646jogging#17,650Mikhail#17,675

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

meridian11 variantsMondays11 variantspilgrim11 variantsplainly11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list