mallow
/ˈmæləʊ/
"mallow" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“mallow” is uncommon English (frequency #60,256 among 36,575 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #60,256
- frequency rank, English
- 36,575
- “M” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of a group of flowering plants in several genera of the taxonomic family Malvaceae, especially of the genus Malva. Several species are edible by humans.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | mallow |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈmæləʊ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #60,256 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “mallow” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
mallow is uncommon English at frequency #60,256 among 36,575 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈmæləʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
mallow doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English malwe, from Old English mealwe, borrowed from Latin malva. Compare the doublet mauve. The correct English form is mallow, spelled M-A-L-L-O-W.
Definition
- 1Any of a group of flowering plants in several genera of the taxonomic family Malvaceae, especially of the genus Malva. Several species are edible by humans.
- 2Larentia clavaria, an uncommon moth found across Eurasia.
Etymology
From Middle English malwe, from Old English mealwe, borrowed from Latin malva. Compare the doublet mauve.
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
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Using “mallow”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-A-L-L-O-W - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈmæləʊ/ (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.