malachite

/ˈmæl.əˌkaɪt/

//ˈmæl.əˌkaɪt// noun

"malachite" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“malachite” is uncommon English (frequency #54,321 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#54,321
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A bright green mineral, a basic copper carbonate, Cu₂CO₃(OH)₂; one of the principal ores of copper.

Corpus desk

Index EN-malachite · malachite · English

malachite · rank #54,321 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #54,321
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Managua

Nearest frequency peer: Managua (+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 “malachite”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “malachite” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for malachite
PropertyValue
Headwordmalachite
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmæl.əˌkaɪt/
Letters9
Frequency rank#54,321
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “malachite” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).malachitefalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Managua” (#54,322), “MacGyver” (#54,319), “lymphocyte” (#54,318). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “malachite” is #54,321. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

malachite is uncommon English at frequency #54,321 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈmæl.əˌkaɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for malachite, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French malachite, from Latin molochītis, from Ancient Greek μολόχη (molókhē, “[leaf of the ... ] mallow plant”). The correct English form is malachite, spelled M-A-L-A-C-H-I-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A bright green mineral, a basic copper carbonate, Cu₂CO₃(OH)₂; one of the principal ores of copper.
  2. 2
    A mild green color, like that of the mineral.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Although there are dozens of different types of gems, among the best known and most important are […] . (Common gem materials not addressed in this article include amber, amethyst, chalcedony, garnet, lazurite, malachite, opals, peridot, rhodonite, spinel, tourmaline, turquoise and zircon.)

Etymology

From Middle French malachite, from Latin molochītis, from Ancient Greek μολόχη (molókhē, “[leaf of the ... ] mallow plant”).

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "malachite"?
"malachite" is spelled M-A-L-A-C-H-I-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmæl.əˌkaɪt/.
What does "malachite" mean?
As a noun, "malachite" means: A bright green mineral, a basic copper carbonate, Cu₂CO₃(OH)₂; one of the principal ores of copper.
How do you pronounce "malachite"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "malachite" is /ˈmæl.əˌkaɪt/. 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 "malachite"?
From Middle French malachite, from Latin molochītis, from Ancient Greek μολόχη (molókhē, “[leaf of the ... ] mallow plant”). 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 "malachite", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list