malic

/ˈmælɪk/

//ˈmælɪk// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"malic" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“malic” is uncommon English (frequency #80,644 among 36,575 “M” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#80,644
frequency rank, English
36,575
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Pertaining to apples.

Key facts for malic
PropertyValue
Headwordmalic
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈmælɪk/
Letters5
Frequency rank#80,644
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “malic” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

malic is uncommon English at frequency #80,644 among 36,575 “M” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈmælɪk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for malic, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French malique, from Latin mālum. The correct English form is malic, spelled M-A-L-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Pertaining to apples.
  2. 2
    Of or pertaining to malic acid or its derivatives.

Etymology

From French malique, from Latin mālum.

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 "malic"?
"malic" is spelled M-A-L-I-C. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmælɪk/.
What does "malic" mean?
As an adjective, "malic" means: Pertaining to apples.
How do you pronounce "malic"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "malic" is /ˈmælɪk/. 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 "malic"?
From French malique, from Latin mālum. 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.

Using “malic”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is M-A-L-I-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈmælɪk/ (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

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list