musicology

/mjuːzɪˈkɒlədʒi/

//mjuːzɪˈkɒlədʒi// noun

"musicology" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“musicology” is an uncommon English word, ranked #71,720 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#71,720
frequency rank, English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The scholarly or scientific study of music, as in historical research, music theory, or the physical nature of sound.

Key facts for musicology
PropertyValue
Headwordmusicology
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/mjuːzɪˈkɒlədʒi/
Letters10
Frequency rank#71,720
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “musicology” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). musicology lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for musicology is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /mjuːzɪˈkɒlədʒi/. Corpus data places it at rank #71,720 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "The scholarly or scientific study of music, as in historical research, music theory, or the physical nature of sound.".

musicology has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From music + -logy. The correct English form is musicology, spelled M-U-S-I-C-O-L-O-G-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The scholarly or scientific study of music, as in historical research, music theory, or the physical nature of sound.

Etymology

From music + -logy.

This word in other languages

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 "musicology"?
"musicology" is spelled M-U-S-I-C-O-L-O-G-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /mjuːzɪˈkɒlədʒi/.
What does "musicology" mean?
As a noun, "musicology" means: The scholarly or scientific study of music, as in historical research, music theory, or the physical nature of sound.
How do you pronounce "musicology"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "musicology" is /mjuːzɪˈkɒlədʒi/. 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 "musicology"?
From music + -logy. 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.

Using “musicology”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is M-U-S-I-C-O-L-O-G-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /mjuːzɪˈkɒlədʒi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list