obsidian
/ˌɒbˈsɪd.i.ən/
"obsidian" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“obsidian” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #30,903 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #30,903
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A type of naturally occurring black glass produced by volcanoes.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | obsidian |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌɒbˈsɪd.i.ən/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #30,903 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “obsidian” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for obsidian is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌɒbˈsɪd.i.ən/. Corpus data places it at rank #30,903 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for obsidian, with forms such as "bosidian", "obbsidian", and "obisdian". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. 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: From Latin obsidianus; named after Obsidius, who was, according to Pliny, the Roman who discovered the stone in Aethiopia. The correct English form is obsidian, spelled O-B-S-I-D-I-A-N.
Definition
- 1A type of naturally occurring black glass produced by volcanoes.
- 2A slightly bluish black, the color of obsidian glass.
Etymology
From Latin obsidianus; named after Obsidius, who was, according to Pliny, the Roman who discovered the stone in Aethiopia.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: bosidian,obbsidian,obisdian,obsdiian,obsidain,obsiddian,obsidiann,obsidina,obsiidan,obssidian,osbidian
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of obsidian - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "obsidian"?
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Using “obsidian”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is O-B-S-I-D-I-A-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌɒbˈsɪd.i.ən/ (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.