ornithological

/ˌɔːnɪθəˈlɒd͡ʒɪkəl/

//ˌɔːnɪθəˈlɒd͡ʒɪkəl// adj

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

"ornithological" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ornithological” is uncommon English (frequency #70,976 among 1,431 “O” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#70,976
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of or pertaining to ornithology.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ornithological · ornithological · English

ornithological · rank #70,976 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #70,976
  • LEN-MEGA 14 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH Osamu

Nearest frequency peer: Osamu (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “ornithological”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “ornithological” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for ornithological
PropertyValue
Headwordornithological
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌɔːnɪθəˈlɒd͡ʒɪkəl/
Letters14
Frequency rank#70,976
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “ornithological” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).ornithologicalfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Osamu” (#70,977), “oocyte” (#70,973), “outbuilding” (#70,979). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “ornithological” is #70,976. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

ornithological is uncommon English at frequency #70,976 among 1,431 “O” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˌɔːnɪθəˈlɒd͡ʒɪkəl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Of or pertaining to ornithology.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for ornithological, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From ornithology + -ical. The correct English form is ornithological, spelled O-R-N-I-T-H-O-L-O-G-I-C-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of or pertaining to ornithology.

Etymology

From ornithology + -ical.

This word in other languages

ornitológico(Español)ornithologique(Français)ornithologisch(Deutsch)

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 "ornithological"?
"ornithological" is spelled O-R-N-I-T-H-O-L-O-G-I-C-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌɔːnɪθəˈlɒd͡ʒɪkəl/.
What does "ornithological" mean?
As an adjective, "ornithological" means: Of or pertaining to ornithology.
How do you pronounce "ornithological"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ornithological" is /ˌɔːnɪθəˈlɒd͡ʒɪkəl/. 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 "ornithological"?
From ornithology + -ical. 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 "ornithological", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 14 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

unenthusiastic#71,197astronomically#71,293cardiothoracic#70,540Zoroastrianism#70,420

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list