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moscow

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

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Letters

6 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "moscow", 6-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "moscow" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "moscow" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

Moscow is aEnglishname. It means: A federal city, the capital and largest city of Russia. Pronounced /ˈmɒskəʊ/. It ranks #3,511 in English word frequency. Often confused with mascot and morrow.

Key facts for Moscow
PropertyValue
HeadwordMoscow
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechName
IPA/ˈmɒskəʊ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#3,511
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of Moscow in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for Moscow is 6 letters long, classified as aname, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈmɒskəʊ/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,511 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 27 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 9 documented wrong-spelling variants for Moscow, with forms such as "mmoscow", "mocsow", and "mosccow". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "mascot", "morrow", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Ultimately from Old East Slavic Москов- (Moskov-), originally referring to the Moskva River, probably from Proto-Slavic *mosky (“swamp, dampness, moisture”). Perhaps related to Czech moskva (“raw bread”), Slovak mozga (“puddle”), Polish Mozgawa, and more di… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is Moscow, spelled M-O-S-C-O-W, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A federal city, the capital and largest city of Russia.
  2. 2
    An oblast of Russia surrounding the city, which itself is not part of the oblast; in full, Moscow Oblast.
  3. 3
    The government of Russia or the Soviet Union.
  4. 4
    A large number of places in the United States:
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    A large number of places in the United States:
  25. 25
    A hamlet in East Ayrshire council area, Scotland; probably named or re-named in 1812 for Napoleon's retreat from Moscow (OS grid ref NS4840).
  26. 26
    A village in Kottayam district, Kerala, India; named due to Soviet influence in Kerala during the Cold War.
  27. 27
    A nickname for the Brandon Estate, a social housing estate in Southwark, Central London; named because of gun violence and the use of Russian-made contraband firearms.

Etymology

Ultimately from Old East Slavic Москов- (Moskov-), originally referring to the Moskva River, probably from Proto-Slavic *mosky (“swamp, dampness, moisture”). Perhaps related to Czech moskva (“raw bread”), Slovak mozga (“puddle”), Polish Mozgawa, and more distantly Latvian mazgāt (“to wash, rinse”), Sanskrit मज्जति (májjati, “to sink”), Latin mergō (“to dive”), all from Proto-Indo-European *mesg- (“to plunge, dip”). Cognate with Russian промозглый (promozglyj, “dank”). Doublet of Moskva.

This word in other languages

Spanish(Español)Portuguese(Português)French(Français)German(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: mmoscow,mocsow,mosccow,moscoww,moscwo,mosocw,mosscow,msocow,omscow

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for Moscow

Misspelling Variants of "Moscow"

mmoscow7mocsow6mosccow7moscoww7moscwo6mosocw6mosscow7msocow6
Misspelling Variants of "Moscow"

Frequency rank: #3,511 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Moscow"?
"Moscow" is spelled M-O-S-C-O-W. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɒskəʊ/.
What does "Moscow" mean?
As a name, "Moscow" means: A federal city, the capital and largest city of Russia.
What words are commonly confused with "Moscow"?
"Moscow" is commonly confused with "mascot", "morrow". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Moscow"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Moscow" is /ˈmɒskəʊ/. 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 "Moscow"?
Ultimately from Old East Slavic Москов- (Moskov-), originally referring to the Moskva River, probably from Proto-Slavic *mosky (“swamp, dampness, moisture”). Perhaps related to Czech moskva (“raw bread”), Slovak mozga (“puddle”), Polish Mozgawa, a... 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter M in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.