many a
"many-a" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“many a” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a determiner. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Being one of a large number, each one of many; belonging to an aggregate or category, considered singly as one of a kind.
Corpus desk
Index EN-many-a · many a · English
many a · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "M" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | many a |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Determiner |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “many a” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
many a is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as adeterminer. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Being one of a large number, each one of many; belonging to an aggregate or category, considered singly as one of a kind.".
Zero misspellings are on record for many a in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is many a, spelled M-A-N-Y- -A.
Definition
- 1Being one of a large number, each one of many; belonging to an aggregate or category, considered singly as one of a kind.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how many a appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
There is many a true word spoken in jest.
Many a flower is born to blush unseen.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
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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.