infirmary

Name: infirmary, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ɪnˈfɝməɹi/

//ɪnˈfɝməɹi// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“infirmary” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,588. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,588
frequency rank, English: 2,140
“I” headwords: 14
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A place where sick or injured people are cared for, especially a small hospital; sickhouse.

Corpus desk

Index EN-infirmary · infirmary · English

infirmary · rank #18,588 · 14 variants · 0 confusables

FREQ-MID #18,588
LEN-LONG 9 letters
VOW-4 4 vowels
CONFUS-0 No pairs
VAR-HIGH 14 variants
BOOK-MID 2,140
PHOTO-FINISH indispensable

Nearest frequency peer: indispensable (-1 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.

IK

81,416
indifference

81,415
indispensab…

81,414
infirmary

81,413
inflict

81,412
Ingram

81,411

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

Key facts for infirmary
Property	Value
Headword	infirmary
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/ɪnˈfɝməɹi/
Letters	9
Frequency rank	#18,588
Misspellings tracked	14
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “infirmary”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).infirmarylands here:

#18,588

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “indispensable” (#18,587), “inflict” (#18,589), “indifference” (#18,586). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “infirmary” is #18,588. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around infirmary (IPA /ɪnˈfɝməɹi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,588 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for infirmary, with forms such as "ifnirmary", "inffirmary", and "infimrary". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Medieval Latin infirmaria, from Latin infirmus. The correct English form is infirmary, spelled I-N-F-I-R-M-A-R-Y.

Definition

1
A place where sick or injured people are cared for, especially a small hospital; sickhouse.
2
A clinic or dispensary within another institution.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

There shall be provided an infirmary or a place for the treatment of sick detained person in every place of detention.

Etymology

From Medieval Latin infirmaria, from Latin infirmus.

This word in other languages

enfermería(Español)infirmerie(Français)Krankenhaus(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

ifnirmary
inffirmary
infimrary
infiramry
infirmarry
infirmaryy
infirmayr
infirmmary
infirmray
infirrmary
infrimary
inifrmary
innfirmary
nifirmary

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of infirmary - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

Edit distance from "infirmary"

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 "infirmary"?

"infirmary" is spelled I-N-F-I-R-M-A-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪnˈfɝməɹi/.

What does "infirmary" mean?

As a noun, "infirmary" means: A place where sick or injured people are cared for, especially a small hospital; sickhouse.

What are common misspellings of "infirmary"?

Common misspellings include "ifnirmary", "inffirmary", "infimrary", "infiramry", "infirmarry". The correct spelling is "infirmary".

How do you pronounce "infirmary"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "infirmary" is /ɪnˈfɝməɹi/. 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 "infirmary"?

From Medieval Latin infirmaria, from Latin infirmus. 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 "infirmary", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

hindsight#18,578 Griffiths#18,573 Friedrich#18,565 Frenchman#18,564

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

homophobia14 variants persisted14 variants cognition14 variants Chesapeake14 variants