minx
/mɪŋks/
"minx" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“minx” is an uncommon English word, ranked #53,706 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #53,706
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A flirtatious, impudent, or pert young woman.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | minx |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /mɪŋks/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #53,706 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “minx” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for minx is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /mɪŋks/. Corpus data places it at rank #53,706 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No generated misspelling entries exist for minx in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *ǵʰmṓ The origin of the noun is uncertain. The following possible derivations have been suggested: * A variation of minikin (“(obsolete) young person, especially a young woman; small or insignificant person, thing, or amount”) + a variation of -s … The correct English form is minx, spelled M-I-N-X.
Definition
- 1A flirtatious, impudent, or pert young woman.
- 2A promiscuous woman; also, a mistress (“the other woman in an extramarital relationship”) or a prostitute.
- 3A pet dog.
Etymology
PIE word *ǵʰmṓ The origin of the noun is uncertain. The following possible derivations have been suggested: * A variation of minikin (“(obsolete) young person, especially a young woman; small or insignificant person, thing, or amount”) + a variation of -s (suffix forming hypocoristic nouns (nicknames)) (compare minckins, a variant of minikin). * From Dutch mens, mensch (“human being, person; (derogatory, informal) woman”) (obsolete), Middle Dutch minsc, minsce, minsch; or from German Low German minsch, minsk, Middle Low German minsche (“hussy, wench”), all ultimately from Proto-Germanic *manniskaz (“human”, adjective), from *mann- (“human being, person; man”) (possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰmṓ (“earthling”), *men- (“to mind; to think; spiritual activity”), or *mon- (“human being; man”)) + *-iskaz (suffix meaning ‘characteristic of, pertaining to’ forming adjectives). The verb is derived from the noun.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “minx”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-I-N-X - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /mɪŋks/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.