marginalia

/mɑɹd͡ʒɪˈneɪli.ə/

//mɑɹd͡ʒɪˈneɪli.ə// noun

"marginalia" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“marginalia” is uncommon English (frequency #88,581 among 36,575 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#88,581
frequency rank, English
36,575
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Notes in the margin of a document.

Corpus desk

Index EN-marginalia · marginalia · English

marginalia · rank #88,581 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #88,581
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 36,575
  • PHOTO-FINISH margrave

Nearest frequency peer: margrave (+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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “marginalia”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “marginalia” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026
Key facts for marginalia
PropertyValue
Headwordmarginalia
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/mɑɹd͡ʒɪˈneɪli.ə/
Letters10
Frequency rank#88,581
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “marginalia” 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). marginalia 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

marginalia is uncommon English at frequency #88,581 among 36,575 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /mɑɹd͡ʒɪˈneɪli.ə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Notes in the margin of a document.".

No misspelling variants are generated for marginalia in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From New Latin marginālia (cf. margināle (neuter singular (adjective / noun)), from Medieval Latin neuter plural of marginālis (“on the periphery”), from Latin margō (“border, edge”). By surface analysis, marginal + -ia. Compare margin. The correct English form is marginalia, spelled M-A-R-G-I-N-A-L-I-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Notes in the margin of a document.

Etymology

From New Latin marginālia (cf. margināle (neuter singular (adjective / noun)), from Medieval Latin neuter plural of marginālis (“on the periphery”), from Latin margō (“border, edge”). By surface analysis, marginal + -ia. Compare margin.

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "marginalia"?
"marginalia" is spelled M-A-R-G-I-N-A-L-I-A. The IPA pronunciation is /mɑɹd͡ʒɪˈneɪli.ə/.
What does "marginalia" mean?
As a noun, "marginalia" means: Notes in the margin of a document.
How do you pronounce "marginalia"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "marginalia" is /mɑɹd͡ʒɪˈneɪli.ə/. 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 "marginalia"?
From New Latin marginālia (cf. margināle (neuter singular (adjective / noun)), from Medieval Latin neuter plural of marginālis (“on the periphery”), from Latin margō (“border, edge”). By surface analysis, marginal + -ia. Compare margin. 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 "marginalia", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency 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