madcap
/ˈmædkæp/
"madcap" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“madcap” is uncommon English (frequency #57,540 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #57,540
- frequency rank, English
- 4,057
- “M” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who acts in a capricious, impulsive, or reckless manner.
Corpus desk
Index EN-madcap · madcap · English
madcap · rank #57,540 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #57,540
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,057
- PHOTO-FINISH Maeda
Nearest frequency peer: Maeda (+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.
Long-tail ranks near “madcap”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- macaque
macaque
42,464 corpus weight
- Machin
Machin
42,463 corpus weight
- madcap
madcap
42,461 corpus weight
- Maeda
Maeda
42,460 corpus weight
- Maggi
Maggi
42,459 corpus weight
- Mahendra
Mahendra
42,458 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “madcap” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | madcap |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈmædkæp/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #57,540 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “madcap” in English
Rare enough to double-check
madcap is uncommon English at frequency #57,540 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈmædkæp/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for madcap, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is derived from mad + cap (“(informal) head”). The adjective is from an attributive use of the noun. The correct English form is madcap, spelled M-A-D-C-A-P.
Definition
- 1A person who acts in a capricious, impulsive, or reckless manner.
- 2A very foolish or irresponsible person; a fool, an idiot.
- 3An insane person; a lunatic.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how madcap appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Near-synonyms: mad lad, madlad
Come-on you mad-cap: Ile to the Ale-houſe vvith you preſently; […]
Etymology
The noun is derived from mad + cap (“(informal) head”). The adjective is from an attributive use of the noun.
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "madcap", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).