old wives' tale
/ɔld ˈwaɪvz teɪl/
"old-wives-tale" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“old wives' tale” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 15
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A supposed truth that has been passed down by word of mouth
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | old wives' tale |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɔld ˈwaɪvz teɪl/ |
| Letters | 15 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “old wives' tale” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
old wives' tale is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ɔld ˈwaɪvz teɪl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for old wives' tale in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. 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: In this context, the word “wives” means “women” and not “married women,” retaining the original sense of Old English wīf, which meant “woman” as well as “wife”. The phrase could be a reformation of Old English ealdra cwēna spell or a calque of Latin anīlis … The correct English form is old wives' tale, spelled O-L-D- -W-I-V-E-S-'- -T-A-L-E.
Definition
- 1A supposed truth that has been passed down by word of mouth
- 2A rumour, myth or superstition; something which is almost certainly untrue, despite acceptance by many.
Etymology
In this context, the word “wives” means “women” and not “married women,” retaining the original sense of Old English wīf, which meant “woman” as well as “wife”. The phrase could be a reformation of Old English ealdra cwēna spell or a calque of Latin anīlis fābula, both literally “old women’s story.”
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “old wives' tale”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is O-L-D- -W-I-V-E-S-'- -T-A-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɔld ˈwaɪvz teɪl/ (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.