masterly
/ˈmɑːstəli/
"masterly" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“masterly” is an uncommon English word, ranked #55,586 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #55,586
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Executed in the manner of a master; showing competence and skill; masterful.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | masterly |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈmɑːstəli/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #55,586 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “masterly” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for masterly is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈmɑːstəli/. Corpus data places it at rank #55,586 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Zero misspellings are on record for masterly in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *méǵh₂s From Middle English maisterli, from maister (“leader, ruler; high official; official in charge of a place; person in control; employer; owner; schoolmaster, teacher; scholar, sage; holder of a master's degree; religious teacher; master cra… The correct English form is masterly, spelled M-A-S-T-E-R-L-Y.
Definition
- 1Executed in the manner of a master; showing competence and skill; masterful.
- 2Like a master; arbitrary; domineering, imperious.
Etymology
PIE word *méǵh₂s From Middle English maisterli, from maister (“leader, ruler; high official; official in charge of a place; person in control; employer; owner; schoolmaster, teacher; scholar, sage; holder of a master's degree; religious teacher; master craftsman; expert; magician; social superior; husband; lover; Jesus Christ; a god; male stud animal”) + -li (suffix forming adjectives). Maister is derived from Old English mæġester (“master”) and Old French maistre (“master”) (modern French maître), both from Latin magister (“teacher; master”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s (“big, great”). The English word is analysable as master + -ly.
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 “masterly”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-A-S-T-E-R-L-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈmɑːstəli/ (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.