millipede
/ˈmɪləpid/
"millipede" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“millipede” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of many elongated arthropods, of the class Diplopoda, with cylindrical bodies that have two pairs of legs for each one of their 20 to 100 or more body segments.
Corpus desk
Index EN-millipede · millipede · English
millipede · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "M" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | millipede |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈmɪləpid/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “millipede” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
millipede is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈmɪləpid/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Any of many elongated arthropods, of the class Diplopoda, with cylindrical bodies that have two pairs of legs for each one of their 20 to 100 or more body segments.".
millipede has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. 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: From Latin mīllipeda (“wood louse”), from mīlle (“thousand”) + pēs, pedis (“foot”), equivalent to milli- + -pede. The correct English form is millipede, spelled M-I-L-L-I-P-E-D-E.
Definition
- 1Any of many elongated arthropods, of the class Diplopoda, with cylindrical bodies that have two pairs of legs for each one of their 20 to 100 or more body segments.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how millipede appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The ſaid leaves alſo ſtamped with honey and brought to the forme of a cataplaſme, cure the bloudie-falls or night-blains: but tempered with wine, they heale the bitings of dogs, as alſo of the Millepeed, which the Greeks call Seps, a long worm with hairie feet, doing much harme to cattaile eſpecially; for looke where it biteth, the place preſently ſwellet…
With one or two exceptions, male millipedes make direct contact with the female and transfer sperm via a pair of modified front legs (gonopods) which have been charged with semen from the genitalia situated towards the rear of the body.
Etymology
From Latin mīllipeda (“wood louse”), from mīlle (“thousand”) + pēs, pedis (“foot”), equivalent to milli- + -pede.
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). 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 May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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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.