mithridate
/ˈmɪθrəˌdeɪt/
"mithridate" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“mithridate” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of various historical medicines, typically an electuary compounded with various poison, believed to derive from Mithridates VI and to serve as a universal antidote.
Corpus desk
Index EN-mithridate · mithridate · English
mithridate · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 10 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 | mithridate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈmɪθrəˌdeɪt/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “mithridate” in English
Rare enough to double-check
mithridate is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈmɪθrəˌdeɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for mithridate, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English mitridate and methridat, from Old French mithridat, from Late Latin mithridatum and mithridatium, from Latin Mithridātīus (“of or related to Mithridates”), from Mithridātēs + -ius, from Ancient Greek Μιθριδάτης (Mithridátēs), the Greek f… The correct English form is mithridate, spelled M-I-T-H-R-I-D-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1Any of various historical medicines, typically an electuary compounded with various poison, believed to derive from Mithridates VI and to serve as a universal antidote.
- 2Any of various historical medicines, typically an electuary compounded with various poison, believed to derive from Mithridates VI and to serve as a universal antidote.
- 3Ellipsis of mithridate mustard.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how mithridate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Auicen saythe; There be certeyne medicins... which wyl not suffre poyson to approche nere the harte, as triacle and Metridate.
After I had thus evacuated the Plethora, and diſpoſed her body for Mercurialls more operative, I gave her each morning and evening a few grains of Mercur. diaphoret. in a bolus with conſ. lujule and Mithridate [...]
Etymology
From Middle English mitridate and methridat, from Old French mithridat, from Late Latin mithridatum and mithridatium, from Latin Mithridātīus (“of or related to Mithridates”), from Mithridātēs + -ius, from Ancient Greek Μιθριδάτης (Mithridátēs), the Greek form of the name of Mithridates VI of Pontus. Doublet of mithridatium, mithridatum, and mithridaticon.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.