mithril
/ˈmɪθ.ɹɪl/
"mithril" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“mithril” is uncommon English (frequency #95,148 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #95,148
- frequency rank, English
- 4,057
- “M” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A fictional silvery metal of great strength and value, primarily in fantasy and role-playing settings.
Corpus desk
Index EN-mithril · mithril · English
mithril · rank #95,148 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #95,148
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,057
- PHOTO-FINISH mitogen
Nearest frequency peer: mitogen (+1 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.
Long-tail ranks near “mithril”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- Minnehaha
Minnehaha
4,857 corpus weight
- Mirena
Mirena
4,855 corpus weight
- mithril
mithril
4,853 corpus weight
- mitogen
mitogen
4,852 corpus weight
- modder
modder
4,851 corpus weight
- molluscan
molluscan
4,850 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “mithril” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| 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) |
Long-tail rank of “mithril” in English
Rare enough to double-check
mithril is uncommon English at frequency #95,148 among 4,057 “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.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how mithril appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
In order to get the iron ore, mithril and leather strap, you must do the following.
Open the double doors to the south and get the mithril plate boots and mithril chain leggings.
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "mithril", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).