mummy

/ˈmʌm.i/

//ˈmʌm.i// noun

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

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

The verdict

“mummy” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,567. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,567
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
15
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An embalmed human or non-human animal corpse wrapped in linen bandages for burial, especially as practised by the ancient Egyptians and some Native American tribes.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mummy · mummy · English

mummy · rank #13,567 · 6 variants · 15 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,567
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 15 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Mohamed

Nearest frequency peer: Mohamed (-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 “mummy”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “mummy” 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).

mummy vs mums
60% similar
mummy vs murky
60% similar
mummy vs mushy
60% similar

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

Key facts for mummy
PropertyValue
Headwordmummy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmʌm.i/
Letters5
Frequency rank#13,567
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs15
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “mummy”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).mummylands 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 “Mohamed” (#13,566), “Neville” (#13,568), “metropolis” (#13,565). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mummy” is #13,567. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around mummy (IPA /ˈmʌm.i/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #13,567 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for mummy, with forms such as "mmummy", "mmumy", and "mummyy". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 15 confusable-pair relationships, "mums", "murky", "mushy", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English mummie, from Anglo-Norman mumie, from Middle French momie, from Medieval Latin mumia, from Arabic مُومِيَاء (mūmiyāʔ), from Persian مومیا (mumyâ), from موم (mum, “wax”). Doublet of mumijo. The correct English form is mummy, spelled M-U-M-M-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    An embalmed human or non-human animal corpse wrapped in linen bandages for burial, especially as practised by the ancient Egyptians and some Native American tribes.
  2. 2
    A reanimated embalmed human corpse, as a stock character in horror films.
  3. 3
    Any naturally preserved human or non-human animal body.
  4. 4
    Any naturally preserved human or non-human animal body. (countable, uncountable, now rare) A brown pigment originally prepared from the ground-up remains of Egyptian animal or human mummies mixed with bitumen, etc.
  5. 5
    A pulp.
  6. 6
    A substance used in medicine, prepared from mummified flesh.
  7. 7
    A sort of wax used in grafting.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. 1832, Royal Society (Great Britain), Abstracts of The Papers Printed in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, From 1800 to 1830 inclusive, Volume 1: 1800-1814, page 201, […] Mr. Pearson proceeds to give a particular description of the very perfect mummy of an Ibis, which forms the chief subject of the present paper.
  2. Leo was the first to discover what these burdens were. `Great heaven!' he said, `they are corpses on fire!' I stared and stared again - he was perfectly right - the torches that were to light our entertainment were human mummies from the caves! On rushed the bearers of the flaming corpses, and, meeting at a spot about twenty paces in front of us, built th…

Etymology

From Middle English mummie, from Anglo-Norman mumie, from Middle French momie, from Medieval Latin mumia, from Arabic مُومِيَاء (mūmiyāʔ), from Persian مومیا (mumyâ), from موم (mum, “wax”). Doublet of mumijo.

This word in other languages

momia(Español)momie(Français)Mumie(Deutsch)múmia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • mmummy
  • mmumy
  • mummyy
  • mumy
  • mumym
  • ummmy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of mummy - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

mmummy1mmumy2mummyy1mumy1mumym2ummmy2
Edit distance from "mummy"

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 "mummy"?
"mummy" is spelled M-U-M-M-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmʌm.i/.
What does "mummy" mean?
As a noun, "mummy" means: An embalmed human or non-human animal corpse wrapped in linen bandages for burial, especially as practised by the ancient Egyptians and some Native American tribes.
What words are commonly confused with "mummy"?
"mummy" is commonly confused with "mums", "murky", "mushy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mummy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mummy" is /ˈmʌm.i/. 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 "mummy"?
From Middle English mummie, from Anglo-Norman mumie, from Middle French momie, from Medieval Latin mumia, from Arabic مُومِيَاء (mūmiyāʔ), from Persian مومیا (mumyâ), from موم (mum, “wax”). Doublet of mumijo. 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 "mummy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

McCoy#13,564Peggy#13,583Jorge#13,550jolly#13,549

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

flux6 variantsdwell6 variantsvines6 variantsAleppo6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list