mollymawk

noun

"mollymawk" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mollymawk” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis).

Corpus desk

Index EN-mollymawk · mollymawk · English

mollymawk · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 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.

Key facts for mollymawk
PropertyValue
Headwordmollymawk
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “mollymawk” in English

mollymawkranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

mollymawk is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for mollymawk in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. 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: Ultimately from Dutch mallemok (from malle (“foolish”)), probably influenced by German Mallemucke. Compare Japanese 信天翁(あほうどり) (ahōdori, “albatross, foolish bird”). The correct English form is mollymawk, spelled M-O-L-L-Y-M-A-W-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    A fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis).
  2. 2
    Any of various similar seabirds, now especially an albatross of the genus Thalassarche.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how mollymawk appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. She chatters, mainly to Simon, pointing out a circling mollymawk, a line of shags winging away from Maukiekie, a penguin that surfaces not far from the boat.

Etymology

Ultimately from Dutch mallemok (from malle (“foolish”)), probably influenced by German Mallemucke. Compare Japanese 信天翁(あほうどり) (ahōdori, “albatross, foolish bird”).

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

How do you spell "mollymawk"?
"mollymawk" is spelled M-O-L-L-Y-M-A-W-K.
What does "mollymawk" mean?
As a noun, "mollymawk" means: A fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis).
What is the origin of the word "mollymawk"?
Ultimately from Dutch mallemok (from malle (“foolish”)), probably influenced by German Mallemucke. Compare Japanese 信天翁(あほうどり) (ahōdori, “albatross, foolish bird”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
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Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list