maudlin
/ˈmɔːd.lɪn/
"maudlin" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“maudlin” is uncommon English (frequency #60,269 among 36,575 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #60,269
- frequency rank, English
- 36,575
- “M” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The Magdalene; Mary Magdalene.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | maudlin |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈmɔːd.lɪn/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #60,269 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “maudlin” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
maudlin is uncommon English at frequency #60,269 among 36,575 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈmɔːd.lɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for maudlin in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English Maudelen, a dialectal form of Mary Magdalene (typically depicted weeping), from Old French Madelaine (whence Madeleine), from Late Latin Magdalena (see Magdalena, Magdalene, and Maudlin). The correct English form is maudlin, spelled M-A-U-D-L-I-N.
Definition
- 1The Magdalene; Mary Magdalene.
- 2Either of two aromatic plants, costmary or sweet yarrow.
- 3A Magdalene house; a brothel.
Etymology
From Middle English Maudelen, a dialectal form of Mary Magdalene (typically depicted weeping), from Old French Madelaine (whence Madeleine), from Late Latin Magdalena (see Magdalena, Magdalene, and Maudlin).
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 “maudlin”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-A-U-D-L-I-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈmɔːd.lɪn/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this 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.