nuchal
/ˈnu.kəl/
"nuchal" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“nuchal” is uncommon English (frequency #99,639 among 1,534 “N” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #99,639
- frequency rank, English
- 1,534
- “N” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The back of the neck.
Corpus desk
Index EN-nuchal · nuchal · English
nuchal · rank #99,639 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #99,639
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 1,534
- PHOTO-FINISH novelette
Nearest frequency peer: novelette (-2 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 “nuchal”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- nonsectarian
nonsectarian
369 corpus weight
- nonsurgical
nonsurgical
368 corpus weight
- novelette
novelette
364 corpus weight
- nuchal
nuchal
362 corpus weight
- O'Riordan
O'Riordan
359 corpus weight
- odorous
odorous
356 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “nuchal” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | nuchal |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈnu.kəl/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #99,639 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “nuchal” in English
Rare enough to double-check
nuchal is uncommon English at frequency #99,639 among 1,534 “N” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈnu.kəl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
nuchal doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Medieval Latin nuchālis, from nucha + -ālis, from Arabic نُخَاع (nuḵāʕ, “spinal cord”). The correct English form is nuchal, spelled N-U-C-H-A-L.
Definition
- 1The back of the neck.
- 2Ellipsis of nuchal translucency scan.
- 3A neck scale, especially of a lizard.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how nuchal appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Dunn gives a key to a part of this group of Eumeces, based upon the number of nuchals, placing the two American species (he does not consider Eumeces altamirani Dugès) in a group having 14-17 pairs of nuchals;[…].
Growth patterns of clavicles, cleithra, opercles, medial nuchals, dorsal scutes, and pectoral fin ray sections have been compared in white sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus.
Etymology
Borrowed from Medieval Latin nuchālis, from nucha + -ālis, from Arabic نُخَاع (nuḵāʕ, “spinal cord”).
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "nuchal", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).