manitou
/ˈmanɪtuː/
"manitou" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“manitou” is an uncommon English word, ranked #60,262 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #60,262
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A god or spirit as the object of religious awe or ritual among some American Indians.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | manitou |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈmanɪtuː/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #60,262 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “manitou” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for manitou is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈmanɪtuː/. Corpus data places it at rank #60,262 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A god or spirit as the object of religious awe or ritual among some American Indians.".
Zero misspellings are on record for manitou in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Pidgin Delaware Manétto, from Unami manëtu and Munsee manútoow, later influenced by French manitou, from Cree/Montagnais manito꞉w; from Proto-Algonquian *maneto·wa (“supernatural being”). The correct English form is manitou, spelled M-A-N-I-T-O-U.
Definition
- 1A god or spirit as the object of religious awe or ritual among some American Indians.
Etymology
From Pidgin Delaware Manétto, from Unami manëtu and Munsee manútoow, later influenced by French manitou, from Cree/Montagnais manito꞉w; from Proto-Algonquian *maneto·wa (“supernatural being”).
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 "manitou"?
What does "manitou" mean?
How do you pronounce "manitou"?
What is the origin of the word "manitou"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “manitou”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-A-N-I-T-O-U - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈmanɪtuː/ (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
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.