motet

/moʊˈtɛt/

//moʊˈtɛt// noun

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

"motet" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“motet” is uncommon English (frequency #99,594 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#99,594
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A composition adapted to sacred words in the elaborate polyphonic church style; an anthem.

Corpus desk

Index EN-motet · motet · English

motet · rank #99,594 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #99,594
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH mottling

Nearest frequency peer: mottling (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “motet”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “motet” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for motet
PropertyValue
Headwordmotet
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/moʊˈtɛt/
Letters5
Frequency rank#99,594
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “motet” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).motetfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “mottling” (#99,595), “Mortlake” (#99,592), “mournfully” (#99,596). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “motet” is #99,594. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

motet is uncommon English at frequency #99,594 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /moʊˈtɛt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A composition adapted to sacred words in the elaborate polyphonic church style; an anthem.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for motet, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French motet. The correct English form is motet, spelled M-O-T-E-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A composition adapted to sacred words in the elaborate polyphonic church style; an anthem.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Singing their holiday concert from memory, the group sounded confident and expressive in pieces ranging from a medley of Barry Manilow songs to renaissance motets.

Etymology

From French motet.

This word in other languages

motete(Español)motet(Français)Motette(Deutsch)

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 "motet"?
"motet" is spelled M-O-T-E-T. The IPA pronunciation is /moʊˈtɛt/.
What does "motet" mean?
As a noun, "motet" means: A composition adapted to sacred words in the elaborate polyphonic church style; an anthem.
How do you pronounce "motet"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "motet" is /moʊˈtɛt/. 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 "motet"?
From French motet. 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 "motet", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Nadel#99,606minge#99,574mesic#99,561Menno#99,560

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list