ivy
/ˈaɪvi/
"ivy" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ivy” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #9,199) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.
- #9,199
- frequency rank, English
- 2,140
- “I” headwords
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of several woody, climbing, or trailing evergreen plants of the genus Hedera.
Corpus desk
Index EN-ivy · ivy · English
ivy · rank #9,199 · 0 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #9,199
- LEN-MID 3 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,140
- PHOTO-FINISH isle
Nearest frequency peer: isle (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “ivy”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- innocence
innocence
90,805 corpus weight
- investigator
investigator
90,804 corpus weight
- isle
isle
90,803 corpus weight
- ivy
ivy
90,802 corpus weight
- justificati…
justification
90,801 corpus weight
- ka
ka
90,800 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “ivy” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ivy |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈaɪvi/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #9,199 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ivy” sits in English frequency
Easy to mix with look-alikes
The spelling risk for ivy is neighbouring look-alikes ("iz", "IWC", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ˈaɪvi/. Frequency #9,199 among 2,140 “I” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.
ivy doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "iz", "IWC", "Izzy", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English ivi, from Old English īfiġ, from Proto-West Germanic *ibig, *ibag, *ibah, from Proto-Germanic *ibahs (compare West Flemish iefte, Low German Eiloov, Ieloof, German Efeu), from Proto-Indo-European *(h₁)ebʰ- (compare Welsh efwr (“black eld… The correct English form is ivy, spelled I-V-Y.
Definition
- 1Any of several woody, climbing, or trailing evergreen plants of the genus Hedera.
- 2Any similar plant of any genus.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how ivy appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Hidden timber elements, lintels and roof tiles have also been replaced, in addition to gaining a new paint job and guttering drainage, and the removal of ivy that was damaging the exterior.
Etymology
From Middle English ivi, from Old English īfiġ, from Proto-West Germanic *ibig, *ibag, *ibah, from Proto-Germanic *ibahs (compare West Flemish iefte, Low German Eiloov, Ieloof, German Efeu), from Proto-Indo-European *(h₁)ebʰ- (compare Welsh efwr (“black elder”), Ancient Greek ἴφυον (íphuon, “spike-lavender, Lavandula Spica”)).
This word in other languages
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 September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ivy", not the corpus desk frequency band.
What to do next
You've looked up "ivy". Here's where to go from here.
- "ivy" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "iz". View pair
- Usage frequency rank #9,199 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "I" letter cohort. I–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.