Mycenae

/maɪˈsiːniː/

//maɪˈsiːniː// name

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

"mycenae" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Mycenae” is uncommon English (frequency #80,691 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#80,691
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An ancient Greek city in the NE Peloponnesus on the plain of Argos, inhabited since about 4000 B.C.E.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mycenae · Mycenae · English

Mycenae · rank #80,691 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #80,691
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH mycoplasma

Nearest frequency peer: mycoplasma (+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 “Mycenae”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Mycenae
PropertyValue
HeadwordMycenae
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/maɪˈsiːniː/
Letters7
Frequency rank#80,691
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Mycenae” in English

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).Mycenaefalls in this rarity band:

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “mycoplasma” (#80,692), “multivariable” (#80,689), “Myerson” (#80,693). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “Mycenae” is #80,691. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Mycenae is uncommon English at frequency #80,691 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /maɪˈsiːniː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An ancient Greek city in the NE Peloponnesus on the plain of Argos, inhabited since about 4000 B.C.E.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for Mycenae in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin Mycenae, Ancient Greek Μυκῆναι (Mukênai), the name of the Ancient Greek city, from Μυκήνη (Mukḗnē), a nymph in Greek mythology who lived around Mycenae. Doublet of Mykines. Two traditional etymologies exist: * According to Pausanias, Perseus, the… The correct English form is Mycenae, spelled M-Y-C-E-N-A-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An ancient Greek city in the NE Peloponnesus on the plain of Argos, inhabited since about 4000 B.C.E.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. 1958, Alan John Bayard Wace, Elizabeth Bayard French, The Mycenae Tablets II, American Philosophical Society, page 1, The excavators of Mycenae added in 1953 and 1954 important new materials to the small but excellent archives of Mycenae.
  2. 1992 [Routledge], Richard Tomlinson, From Mycenae to Constantinople, 2003, Taylor & Francis e-Library, page 31, In 479 BC the citizen army of Mycenae marched to Plataea in Boeotia to join the other mainland Greek cities in inflicting the final defeat which terminated Xerxes' invasion of Greece.

Etymology

From Latin Mycenae, Ancient Greek Μυκῆναι (Mukênai), the name of the Ancient Greek city, from Μυκήνη (Mukḗnē), a nymph in Greek mythology who lived around Mycenae. Doublet of Mykines. Two traditional etymologies exist: * According to Pausanias, Perseus, the legendary founder of the city, named it either after the cap of the sheath of his sword or after a mushroom he had plucked on the site (either way, the term would derive from Ancient Greek μύκης (múkēs)). * Homer connected the name to the abovementioned Mycene (or Mykene), daughter of Inachus, first King of Argos (Odyssey, 2.120). Homer was not alone in identifying Inachus as a river god, and thus Mycene as a nymph.

This word in other languages

Micenas(Español)Mycènes(Français)Mykene(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 "Mycenae"?
"Mycenae" is spelled M-Y-C-E-N-A-E. The IPA pronunciation is /maɪˈsiːniː/.
What does "Mycenae" mean?
As a proper noun, "Mycenae" means: An ancient Greek city in the NE Peloponnesus on the plain of Argos, inhabited since about 4000 B.C.E.
How do you pronounce "Mycenae"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Mycenae" is /maɪˈsiːniː/. 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 "Mycenae"?
From Latin Mycenae, Ancient Greek Μυκῆναι (Mukênai), the name of the Ancient Greek city, from Μυκήνη (Mukḗnē), a nymph in Greek mythology who lived around Mycenae. Doublet of Mykines. Two traditional etymologies exist: * According to Pausanias, Pe... 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 "Mycenae", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Myerson#80,693Oedipal#80,721oilseed#80,727mannose#80,645

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list