one and the same
"one-and-the-same" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“one and the same” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a determiner. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 16
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The selfsame. Used to emphasize the identity or equivalence of two things.
Corpus desk
Index EN-one-and-the-same · one and the same · English
one and the same · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 16 letters
- VOW-6 6 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "O" 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 | one and the same |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Determiner |
| Letters | 16 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “one and the same” in English
Rare enough to double-check
one and the same is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as adeterminer. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The selfsame. Used to emphasize the identity or equivalence of two things.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for one and the same, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Possibly a calque of Latin unus et idem. The correct English form is one and the same, spelled O-N-E- -A-N-D- -T-H-E- -S-A-M-E.
Definition
- 1The selfsame. Used to emphasize the identity or equivalence of two things.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how one and the same appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
It's almost as if there's one electron in two places at one and the same time.
Etymology
Possibly a calque of Latin unus et idem.
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.