modicum
/ˈmɒdɪkəm/
"modicum" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“modicum” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #41,256 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #41,256
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A modest, small, or trifling amount.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | modicum |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈmɒdɪkəm/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #41,256 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “modicum” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for modicum is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈmɒdɪkəm/. Corpus data places it at rank #41,256 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A modest, small, or trifling amount.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for modicum, with forms such as "mdoicum", "mmodicum", and "modcium". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "medium", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English modicum, from Latin modicum (“a little, a small amount”), a noun use of the neuter form of modicus (“moderate; restrained, temperate; reasonable”) + -cum (suffix forming neuter nouns). Modicus is derived from modus (“a measure; a bound, … The correct English form is modicum, spelled M-O-D-I-C-U-M.
Definition
- 1A modest, small, or trifling amount.
Etymology
From Middle English modicum, from Latin modicum (“a little, a small amount”), a noun use of the neuter form of modicus (“moderate; restrained, temperate; reasonable”) + -cum (suffix forming neuter nouns). Modicus is derived from modus (“a measure; a bound, limit”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to measure”)) + -icus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). The plural form modica is derived from Latin modica.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: mdoicum,mmodicum,modcium,moddicum,modiccum,modicmu,modicumm,modiucm,moidcum,omdicum
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of modicum - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 “modicum”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-O-D-I-C-U-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈmɒdɪkəm/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “medium” - see the side-by-side comparison. modicum vs medium
- 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.