ninnyhammer
"ninnyhammer" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ninnyhammer” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A foolish person; a simpleton.
Corpus desk
Index EN-ninnyhammer · ninnyhammer · English
ninnyhammer · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 11 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "N" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ninnyhammer |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ninnyhammer” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
ninnyhammer is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A foolish person; a simpleton.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for ninnyhammer, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Apparently from ninny (although attested slightly later) + -hammer, of unknown origin; perhaps compare earlier hammer-headed. The correct English form is ninnyhammer, spelled N-I-N-N-Y-H-A-M-M-E-R.
Definition
- 1A foolish person; a simpleton.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how ninnyhammer appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
1608, A Yorkshire Tragedy, dubiously claimed to be by William Shakespeare Why, the more fool she; aye, the more ninny hammer she.
"You silly, awkward, ill-bred country sow," quoth one, "have you no more manners than to rail at Hocus that has saved that clod-pated numskulled ninny-hammer of yours from ruin, and all his family?
Etymology
Apparently from ninny (although attested slightly later) + -hammer, of unknown origin; perhaps compare earlier hammer-headed.
Synonyms
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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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.