minion

/ˈmɪnjən/

//ˈmɪnjən// noun

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

"minion" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“minion” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #27,217. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#27,217
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
18
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A loyal servant of another, usually a more powerful being.

Corpus desk

Index EN-minion · minion · English

minion · rank #27,217 · 8 variants · 18 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #27,217
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 18 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Milly

Nearest frequency peer: Milly (-2 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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “minion”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “minion” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

minion vs mino
67% similar
minion vs minor
67% similar
minion vs Minot
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for minion
PropertyValue
Headwordminion
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmɪnjən/
Letters6
Frequency rank#27,217
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs18
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “minion”

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).minionlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Milly” (#27,215), “misused” (#27,219), “melodrama” (#27,214). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “minion” is #27,217. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around minion (IPA /ˈmɪnjən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #27,217 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for minion, with forms such as "imnion", "miinon", and "minino". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 18 confusable-pair relationships, "mino", "minor", "Minot", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: 1490, from Middle French mignon (“lover, royal favourite, darling”), from Old French mignon (“dainty, pleasing, gentle, kind”), from Frankish *minnju (“love, friendship, affection, memory”), from Proto-Germanic *minþijō, *mindijō (“affectionate thought, car… The correct English form is minion, spelled M-I-N-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A loyal servant of another, usually a more powerful being.
  2. 2
    A sycophantic follower.
  3. 3
    The size of type between nonpareil and brevier, standardized as 7-point.
  4. 4
    A loved one; one highly esteemed and favoured.
  5. 5
    An ancient form of ordnance with a calibre of about three inches.
  6. 6
    Obsolete form of minium.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The archvillain deployed his minions to simultaneously rob every bank in the city.
  2. In the past two years, NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope has located nearly 3,000 exoplanet candidates ranging from sub-Earth-sized minions to gas giants that dwarf our own Jupiter.

Etymology

1490, from Middle French mignon (“lover, royal favourite, darling”), from Old French mignon (“dainty, pleasing, gentle, kind”), from Frankish *minnju (“love, friendship, affection, memory”), from Proto-Germanic *minþijō, *mindijō (“affectionate thought, care”), from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to think”). Doublet of mignon.

This word in other languages

secuaz(Español)subalterne(Français)Ergebener(Deutsch)lacaio(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • imnion
  • miinon
  • minino
  • minionn
  • minnion
  • minoin
  • mminion
  • mniion

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of minion - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

imnion2miinon2minino2minionn1minnion1minoin2mminion1mniion2
Edit distance from "minion"

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 "minion"?
"minion" is spelled M-I-N-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɪnjən/.
What does "minion" mean?
As a noun, "minion" means: A loyal servant of another, usually a more powerful being.
What words are commonly confused with "minion"?
"minion" is commonly confused with "mino", "minor", "Minot". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "minion"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "minion" is /ˈmɪnjən/. 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 "minion"?
1490, from Middle French mignon (“lover, royal favourite, darling”), from Old French mignon (“dainty, pleasing, gentle, kind”), from Frankish *minnju (“love, friendship, affection, memory”), from Proto-Germanic *minþijō, *mindijō (“affectionate th... 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 "minion", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

meager#27,213ligand#27,197Keegan#27,190Kareem#27,189

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Navarro8 variantsquizzes8 variantsSchiff8 variantssomber8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list