marmalade
/ˈmɑː.mə.leɪd/
"marmalade" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“marmalade” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #33,319 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #33,319
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A kind of jam made with citrus fruit, distinguished by being made slightly bitter by the addition of the peel and by partial caramelisation during manufacture. Most commonly made with Seville orang...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | marmalade |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈmɑː.mə.leɪd/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #33,319 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “marmalade” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for marmalade is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈmɑː.mə.leɪd/. Corpus data places it at rank #33,319 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for marmalade, with forms such as "amrmalade", "mamralade", and "maramlade". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French marmelade, from Portuguese marmelada (“quince jam”), from marmelo (“quince”), from Latin melimēlum (“sweet apple”), from Ancient Greek μελίμηλον (melímēlon), from μέλι (méli, “honey”) + μῆλον (mêlon, “apple”). A false folk etymol… The correct English form is marmalade, spelled M-A-R-M-A-L-A-D-E.
Definition
- 1A kind of jam made with citrus fruit, distinguished by being made slightly bitter by the addition of the peel and by partial caramelisation during manufacture. Most commonly made with Seville oranges, and usually qualified by the name of the fruit when made with other types of fruit.
- 2Quince jam.
- 3A cat having orange- or ginger-colored fur.
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French marmelade, from Portuguese marmelada (“quince jam”), from marmelo (“quince”), from Latin melimēlum (“sweet apple”), from Ancient Greek μελίμηλον (melímēlon), from μέλι (méli, “honey”) + μῆλον (mêlon, “apple”). A false folk etymology claims that this comes from the French phrase “Marie est malade” (“Mary is ill”), referring to Mary, Queen of Scots, falling ill and being given marmalade to feel better.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: amrmalade,mamralade,maramlade,marmaalde,marmaladde,marmalaed,marmaldae,marmallade,marmlaade,marmmalade,marrmalade,mmarmalade,mramalade
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of marmalade - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "marmalade"?
What does "marmalade" mean?
What are common misspellings of "marmalade"?
How do you pronounce "marmalade"?
What is the origin of the word "marmalade"?
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Using “marmalade”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-A-R-M-A-L-A-D-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈmɑː.mə.leɪd/ (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.