morsel

/ˈmɔːsəl/

//ˈmɔːsəl// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"morsel" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“morsel” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #47,773. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#47,773
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A small fragment or share of something, commonly applied to food.

Corpus desk

Index EN-morsel · morsel · English

morsel · rank #47,773 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #47,773
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Mornington

Nearest frequency peer: Mornington (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “morsel”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “morsel” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

morsel vs mouse
67% similar
morsel vs Moses
50% similar
morsel vs motel
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for morsel
PropertyValue
Headwordmorsel
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmɔːsəl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#47,773
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “morsel”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).morsellands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Mornington” (#47,772), “Montserrat” (#47,771), “mucho” (#47,775). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “morsel” is #47,773. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around morsel (IPA /ˈmɔːsəl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #47,773 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for morsel, with forms such as "mmorsel", "moresl", and "morrsel". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "mouse", "Moses", "motel", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English morsel, from Old French morsel, from Medieval Latin morsellum (“a bit, a little piece”), diminutive of Latin morsum (“a bit”), neuter of morsus, perfect passive participle of mordeo (“to bite”). Compare French morceau, whence the English… The correct English form is morsel, spelled M-O-R-S-E-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A small fragment or share of something, commonly applied to food.
  2. 2
    A mouthful of food.
  3. 3
    A very small amount.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. By sticking out his tongue and curling it sideways to explore the hairy jungle around his mouth, he was always able to find a tasty morsel here and there to nibble on.
  2. If a morsel of food fell off your plate, the advice of one contemporary document was to pick it up, make the sign of the cross over it, season it well - and then eat it.

Etymology

From Middle English morsel, from Old French morsel, from Medieval Latin morsellum (“a bit, a little piece”), diminutive of Latin morsum (“a bit”), neuter of morsus, perfect passive participle of mordeo (“to bite”). Compare French morceau, whence the English doublet morceau.

This word in other languages

pizca(Español)morceau(Français)Happen(Deutsch)porção(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • mmorsel
  • moresl
  • morrsel
  • morsell
  • morsle
  • morssel
  • mosrel
  • mrosel
  • omrsel

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of morsel - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

mmorsel1moresl2morrsel1morsell1morsle2morssel1mosrel2mrosel2
Edit distance from "morsel"

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

How do you spell "morsel"?
"morsel" is spelled M-O-R-S-E-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɔːsəl/.
What does "morsel" mean?
As a noun, "morsel" means: A small fragment or share of something, commonly applied to food.
What words are commonly confused with "morsel"?
"morsel" is commonly confused with "mouse", "Moses", "motel". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "morsel"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "morsel" is /ˈmɔːsəl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "morsel"?
From Middle English morsel, from Old French morsel, from Medieval Latin morsellum (“a bit, a little piece”), diminutive of Latin morsum (“a bit”), neuter of morsus, perfect passive participle of mordeo (“to bite”). Compare French morceau, whence t... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "morsel", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

moline#47,768Muncie#47,778moiety#47,767Murthy#47,781

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

McGhee9 variantsnostra9 variantsmalign9 variantslunged9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list