mescaline

/ˈmɛs.kəl.ɪn/

//ˈmɛs.kəl.ɪn// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"mescaline" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mescaline” is uncommon English (frequency #64,535 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#64,535
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A hallucinogenic and intoxicating compound present in the peyote cactus (Lophophora williamsii), the San Pedro cactus (Echinopsis pachanoi), and the Peruvian torch (Echinopsis peruviana).

Corpus desk

Index EN-mescaline · mescaline · English

mescaline · rank #64,535 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #64,535
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Metis

Nearest frequency peer: Metis (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “mescaline”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “mescaline” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for mescaline
PropertyValue
Headwordmescaline
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmɛs.kəl.ɪn/
Letters9
Frequency rank#64,535
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “mescaline” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).mescalinefalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Metis” (#64,536), “mell” (#64,533), “midazolam” (#64,537). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mescaline” is #64,535. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

mescaline is uncommon English at frequency #64,535 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈmɛs.kəl.ɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A hallucinogenic and intoxicating compound present in the peyote cactus (Lophophora williamsii), the San Pedro cactus (Echinopsis pachanoi), and the Peruvian torch (Echinopsis peruviana).".

mescaline has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From mescal (“peyote”) + -ine. The correct English form is mescaline, spelled M-E-S-C-A-L-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A hallucinogenic and intoxicating compound present in the peyote cactus (Lophophora williamsii), the San Pedro cactus (Echinopsis pachanoi), and the Peruvian torch (Echinopsis peruviana).

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how mescaline appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers . . . and also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls.

Etymology

From mescal (“peyote”) + -ine.

This word in other languages

Meskalin(Deutsch)

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 "mescaline"?
"mescaline" is spelled M-E-S-C-A-L-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɛs.kəl.ɪn/.
What does "mescaline" mean?
As a noun, "mescaline" means: A hallucinogenic and intoxicating compound present in the peyote cactus (Lophophora williamsii), the San Pedro cactus (Echinopsis pachanoi), and the Peruvian torch (Echinopsis peruviana).
How do you pronounce "mescaline"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mescaline" is /ˈmɛs.kəl.ɪn/. 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 "mescaline"?
From mescal (“peyote”) + -ine. 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 "mescaline", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

midazolam#64,537McCutchen#64,528Marinette#64,522mongoloid#64,551

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list