myelin
/ˈmaɪəlɪn/
"myelin" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“myelin” is uncommon English (frequency #52,512 among 36,575 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #52,512
- frequency rank, English
- 36,575
- “M” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A white, fatty material, composed of lipids and lipoproteins, that surrounds the axons of nerves.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | myelin |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈmaɪəlɪn/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #52,512 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “myelin” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
myelin is uncommon English at frequency #52,512 among 36,575 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈmaɪəlɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A white, fatty material, composed of lipids and lipoproteins, that surrounds the axons of nerves.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for myelin, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Ancient Greek μυελός (muelós)der. English myelo- English -ineclip. English -in English myelin From myelo- + -in. From Ancient Greek μυελός (muelós, “marrow”). The correct English form is myelin, spelled M-Y-E-L-I-N.
Definition
- 1A white, fatty material, composed of lipids and lipoproteins, that surrounds the axons of nerves.
Etymology
Etymology tree Ancient Greek μυελός (muelós)der. English myelo- English -ineclip. English -in English myelin From myelo- + -in. From Ancient Greek μυελός (muelós, “marrow”).
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
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Using “myelin”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-Y-E-L-I-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈmaɪəlɪn/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.