mithril
/ˈmɪθ.ɹɪl/
"mithril" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“mithril” is uncommon English (frequency #95,148 among 36,575 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #95,148
- frequency rank, English
- 36,575
- “M” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A fictional silvery metal of great strength and value, primarily in fantasy and role-playing settings.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | mithril |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈmɪθ.ɹɪl/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #95,148 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “mithril” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
mithril is uncommon English at frequency #95,148 among 36,575 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈmɪθ.ɹɪl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A fictional silvery metal of great strength and value, primarily in fantasy and role-playing settings.".
mithril doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Coined by J. R. R. Tolkien in his constructed language Sindarin as mithril, from mith (“pale grey”) + a derivative of the Primitive Elvish root *ril- (‘brilliant light, glitter’). The correct English form is mithril, spelled M-I-T-H-R-I-L.
Definition
- 1A fictional silvery metal of great strength and value, primarily in fantasy and role-playing settings.
Etymology
Coined by J. R. R. Tolkien in his constructed language Sindarin as mithril, from mith (“pale grey”) + a derivative of the Primitive Elvish root *ril- (‘brilliant light, glitter’).
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 “mithril”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-I-T-H-R-I-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈmɪθ.ɹɪl/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.