medulla

/məˈdʌlə/

//məˈdʌlə// noun

Detailed reference entry for the English word "medulla", 7-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Wiktionary, and usage frequency ranked against an open word-frequency list covering the top 100,000 English words. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "medulla" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "medulla" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

The verdict

“medulla” is an uncommon English word, ranked #53,694 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#53,694
frequency rank, English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) — The soft inner part of something, especially the pith of a fruit.

Compare similar words

See how medulla compares against similar English words.

Browse all word comparisons →
Key facts for medulla
PropertyValue
Headwordmedulla
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/məˈdʌlə/
Letters7
Frequency rank#53,694
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “medulla” 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). medulla lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for medulla is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /məˈdʌlə/. Corpus data places it at rank #53,694 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No misspelling variants are generated for medulla 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: Borrowed from Latin medulla (“pith, marrow”), perhaps from medius (“middle”). Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is medulla, spelled M-E-D-U-L-L-A, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    The soft inner part of something, especially the pith of a fruit.
  2. 2
    The inner substance of various organs and structures, especially the marrow of bones.
  3. 3
    The medulla oblongata.
  4. 4
    The internal tissue of a plant.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin medulla (“pith, marrow”), perhaps from medius (“middle”).

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.

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY-SA). Copy the citation:

PlainSpell, “medulla, English word data” (May 6, 2026). Derived from Wiktionary (kaikki.org, CC BY-SA) and an open word-frequency list. https://plainspell.com/en/word/medulla

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "medulla"?
"medulla" is spelled M-E-D-U-L-L-A. The IPA pronunciation is /məˈdʌlə/.
What does "medulla" mean?
As a noun, "medulla" means: The soft inner part of something, especially the pith of a fruit.
How do you pronounce "medulla"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "medulla" is /məˈdʌlə/. 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 "medulla"?
Borrowed from Latin medulla (“pith, marrow”), perhaps from medius (“middle”). 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.

Using “medulla”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is M-E-D-U-L-L-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /məˈdʌlə/ (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

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter M in our English index:

Explore PlainSpell

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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list