molluscum contagiosum
"molluscum-contagiosum" is a 20-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“molluscum contagiosum” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 21
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A viral infection of the skin or (occasionally) mucous membranes, caused by Molluscum contagiosum virus (MCV), a DNA poxvirus.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | molluscum contagiosum |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 21 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “molluscum contagiosum” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for molluscum contagiosum is 21 letters long, classified as a noun. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A viral infection of the skin or (occasionally) mucous membranes, caused by Molluscum contagiosum virus (MCV), a DNA poxvirus.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for molluscum contagiosum in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin inflected forms of molluscus (“soft”), + contagiosus (“contagious”) (from contagio (“contact”)). The correct English form is molluscum contagiosum, spelled M-O-L-L-U-S-C-U-M- -C-O-N-T-A-G-I-O-S-U-M.
Definition
- 1A viral infection of the skin or (occasionally) mucous membranes, caused by Molluscum contagiosum virus (MCV), a DNA poxvirus.
Etymology
From Latin inflected forms of molluscus (“soft”), + contagiosus (“contagious”) (from contagio (“contact”)).
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “molluscum contagiosum”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-O-L-L-U-S-C-U-M- -C-O-N-T-A-G-I-O-S-U-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- 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.