Michaelmas
/ˈmɪkəlməs/
"michaelmas" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Michaelmas” is uncommon English (frequency #67,645 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #67,645
- frequency rank, English
- 4,057
- “M” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A Christian feast celebrated on the 29th of September in honour of the archangel Michael.
Corpus desk
Index EN-michaelmas · Michaelmas · English
Michaelmas · rank #67,645 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #67,645
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,057
- PHOTO-FINISH microRNA
Nearest frequency peer: microRNA (+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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “Michaelmas”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- memoria
memoria
32,362 corpus weight
- Mercure
Mercure
32,359 corpus weight
- mestizo
mestizo
32,358 corpus weight
- Michaelmas
Michaelmas
32,356 corpus weight
- microRNA
microRNA
32,355 corpus weight
- midyear
midyear
32,353 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “Michaelmas” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Michaelmas |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈmɪkəlməs/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #67,645 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Michaelmas” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
Michaelmas is uncommon English at frequency #67,645 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /ˈmɪkəlməs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Michaelmas has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English Michelmasse, Myghelmesse; equivalent to Michael + -mas. The correct English form is Michaelmas, spelled M-I-C-H-A-E-L-M-A-S.
Definition
- 1A Christian feast celebrated on the 29th of September in honour of the archangel Michael.
- 2Ellipsis of Michaelmas term.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how Michaelmas appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
To make Capons […] [S]ome for this Purpoſe make it their Buſineſs after Harveſt-time to go to Markets for buying up Chickens, and between Michaelmas and All-hollantide caponize the Cocks, when they have got large enough to have Stones [i.e., testes] of ſuch a Bigneſs that they may be pulled out; for if they are too little, it can't be done; […]
Etymology
From Middle English Michelmasse, Myghelmesse; equivalent to Michael + -mas.
Synonyms
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Michaelmas", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
What to do next
You've looked up "Michaelmas". Here's where to go from here.
- Usage frequency rank #67,645 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "M" letter cohort. M–Z browse
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PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.