Jim Crow
/ˌdʒɪm ˈkɹoʊ/
Detailed reference entry for the English word "jim-crow", 8-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Wiktionary, and usage frequency ranked against an open word-frequency list covering the top 100,000 English words. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "jim-crow" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "jim-crow" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.
The verdict
“Jim Crow” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a proper noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A Black man.
Compare similar words
See how Jim Crow compares against similar English words.
Browse all word comparisons →| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Jim Crow |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˌdʒɪm ˈkɹoʊ/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Jim Crow” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Jim Crow is 8 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌdʒɪm ˈkɹoʊ/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No misspelling variants are generated for Jim Crow in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. 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 the minstrel show song Jump Jim Crow, written in 1828 by Thomas D. Rice, the originator of blackface performance. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is Jim Crow, spelled J-I-M- -C-R-O-W, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1A Black man.
- 2The collective policies and customs of an era of racial oppression in the U.S., especially legalized racial persecution and segregationist practices, prevalent from the late 1800s through the 1960s until challenged by the U.S. civil rights movement.
- 3A fictional character from various minstrel show performances who is stereotypically depicted as an unintelligent, violent, and promiscuous Black man.
Etymology
From the minstrel show song Jump Jim Crow, written in 1828 by Thomas D. Rice, the originator of blackface performance.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Cite this page
Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY-SA). Copy the citation:
PlainSpell, “Jim Crow, English word data” (May 6, 2026). Derived from Wiktionary (kaikki.org, CC BY-SA) and an open word-frequency list. https://plainspell.com/en/word/jim-crow
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Using “Jim Crow”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is J-I-M- -C-R-O-W - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌdʒɪm ˈkɹoʊ/ (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
Nearby English words
Other entries that begin with the letter J in our English index: