occipital

/ɒkˈsɪp.ɪt.əl/

//ɒkˈsɪp.ɪt.əl// adj

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

"occipital" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“occipital” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #42,799. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#42,799
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords
11
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of, pertaining to, or located within or near the occiput (back of the head) or the occipital bone.

Corpus desk

Index EN-occipital · occipital · English

occipital · rank #42,799 · 11 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #42,799
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH ophthalmic

Nearest frequency peer: ophthalmic (+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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “occipital”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “occipital” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for occipital
PropertyValue
Headwordoccipital
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ɒkˈsɪp.ɪt.əl/
Letters9
Frequency rank#42,799
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “occipital”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).occipitallands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “ophthalmic” (#42,800), “ostentatious” (#42,802), “osteopathic” (#42,803). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “occipital” is #42,799. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around occipital (IPA /ɒkˈsɪp.ɪt.əl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #42,799 among 1,431 “O” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Of, pertaining to, or located within or near the occiput (back of the head) or the occipital bone.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for occipital, with forms such as "cocipital", "occiiptal", and "occipiatl". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowing from Middle French occipital, from Medieval Latin occipitālis, from occiput (“the back of the head, occiput”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix), equivalent of occiput + -al. Doublet of occipitalis. The correct English form is occipital, spelled O-C-C-I-P-I-T-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of, pertaining to, or located within or near the occiput (back of the head) or the occipital bone.

Etymology

Borrowing from Middle French occipital, from Medieval Latin occipitālis, from occiput (“the back of the head, occiput”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix), equivalent of occiput + -al. Doublet of occipitalis.

This word in other languages

occipital(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cocipital
  • occiiptal
  • occipiatl
  • occipitall
  • occipitla
  • occipittal
  • occippital
  • occiptial
  • occpiital
  • ocicpital
  • ocipital

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of occipital - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

cocipital2occiiptal2occipiatl2occipitall1occipitla2occipittal1occippital1occiptial2
Edit distance from "occipital"

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 "occipital"?
"occipital" is spelled O-C-C-I-P-I-T-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ɒkˈsɪp.ɪt.əl/.
What does "occipital" mean?
As an adjective, "occipital" means: Of, pertaining to, or located within or near the occiput (back of the head) or the occipital bone.
What are common misspellings of "occipital"?
Common misspellings include "cocipital", "occiiptal", "occipiatl", "occipitall", "occipitla". The correct spelling is "occipital".
How do you pronounce "occipital"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "occipital" is /ɒkˈsɪp.ɪt.əl/. 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 "occipital"?
Borrowing from Middle French occipital, from Medieval Latin occipitālis, from occiput (“the back of the head, occiput”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix), equivalent of occiput + -al. Doublet of occipitalis. 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 "occipital", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

narcissus#42,786prostrate#42,837quicksand#42,842lightfoot#42,748

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

oversize11 variantspadlock11 variantsplasmid11 variantsMesozoic11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list