Metis

/meɪˈtiː/

//meɪˈtiː// name

"metis" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Metis” is uncommon English (frequency #64,536 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#64,536
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One of three recognized Aboriginal peoples of Canada, descendants of marriages of Cree, Ojibwa, Saulteaux, and Menominee Aboriginal people with French Canadians, Scots and English.

Corpus desk

Index EN-metis · Metis · English

Metis · rank #64,536 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #64,536
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH mescaline

Nearest frequency peer: mescaline (-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 “Metis”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Metis
PropertyValue
HeadwordMetis
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/meɪˈtiː/
Letters5
Frequency rank#64,536
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Metis” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).Metisfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “mescaline” (#64,535), “midazolam” (#64,537), “mell” (#64,533). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “Metis” is #64,536. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Metis is uncommon English at frequency #64,536 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /meɪˈtiː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "One of three recognized Aboriginal peoples of Canada, descendants of marriages of Cree, Ojibwa, Saulteaux, and Menominee Aboriginal people with French Canadians, Scots and English.".

Metis has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French métis, from Old French mestis, from Late Latin mixtīcius. Métis originally referred to Francophone and Cree-speaking descendants of the French-Catholic Red River Métis in Manitoba. Compare metis, mestizo, mustee, and Mestee. The correct English form is Metis, spelled M-E-T-I-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    One of three recognized Aboriginal peoples of Canada, descendants of marriages of Cree, Ojibwa, Saulteaux, and Menominee Aboriginal people with French Canadians, Scots and English.

Etymology

Borrowed from French métis, from Old French mestis, from Late Latin mixtīcius. Métis originally referred to Francophone and Cree-speaking descendants of the French-Catholic Red River Métis in Manitoba. Compare metis, mestizo, mustee, and Mestee.

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 "Metis"?
"Metis" is spelled M-E-T-I-S. The IPA pronunciation is /meɪˈtiː/.
What does "Metis" mean?
As a proper noun, "Metis" means: One of three recognized Aboriginal peoples of Canada, descendants of marriages of Cree, Ojibwa, Saulteaux, and Menominee Aboriginal people with French Canadians, Scots and English.
How do you pronounce "Metis"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Metis" is /meɪˈtiː/. 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 "Metis"?
Borrowed from French métis, from Old French mestis, from Late Latin mixtīcius. Métis originally referred to Francophone and Cree-speaking descendants of the French-Catholic Red River Métis in Manitoba. Compare metis, mestizo, mustee, and Mestee. 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 "Metis", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list