ouroboros

/uːˈrɒbəˌrɒs/

//uːˈrɒbəˌrɒs// noun

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

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

The verdict

“ouroboros” is uncommon English (frequency #83,584 among 1,431 “O” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#83,584
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A serpent, dragon or worm that eats its own tail, a representation of the continuous cycle of life and death.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ouroboros · ouroboros · English

ouroboros · rank #83,584 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #83,584
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH osteosarcoma

Nearest frequency peer: osteosarcoma (-2 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 “ouroboros”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for ouroboros
PropertyValue
Headwordouroboros
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/uːˈrɒbəˌrɒs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#83,584
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “ouroboros” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).ouroborosfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “osteosarcoma” (#83,582), “overachiever” (#83,587), “overbite” (#83,588). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “ouroboros” is #83,584. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

ouroboros is uncommon English at frequency #83,584 among 1,431 “O” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /uːˈrɒbəˌrɒs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for ouroboros in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. 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 Ancient Greek οὐροβόρος (ourobóros, “tail-devouring”, a compound of οὐρά (ourá, “tail”) + -βόρος (-bóros, “-devouring”, which is derived from the verb βιβρώσκω (bibrṓskō, “to eat up”))). The correct English form is ouroboros, spelled O-U-R-O-B-O-R-O-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A serpent, dragon or worm that eats its own tail, a representation of the continuous cycle of life and death.
  2. 2
    Anything of a circular or recursive nature.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how ouroboros appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The alchemists were fond of picturing their opus as a circulatory process, as a circular distillation or as the uroboros, the snake biting its own tail, and they made innumerable pictures of this process.
  2. Khepera eating his own seed is a model of Romantic creativity, where the self is isolated and sexually dual. Khepera bent over himself is a uroboros, the serpent eating its own tail, a magic circle of regeneration and rebirth. The uroboros is the prehistoric track of natural cycle, from which Judaism and Hellenism make a conceptual break.

Etymology

From Ancient Greek οὐροβόρος (ourobóros, “tail-devouring”, a compound of οὐρά (ourá, “tail”) + -βόρος (-bóros, “-devouring”, which is derived from the verb βιβρώσκω (bibrṓskō, “to eat up”))).

This word in other languages

uróboro(Español)ouroboros(Français)

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 "ouroboros"?
"ouroboros" is spelled O-U-R-O-B-O-R-O-S. The IPA pronunciation is /uːˈrɒbəˌrɒs/.
What does "ouroboros" mean?
As a noun, "ouroboros" means: A serpent, dragon or worm that eats its own tail, a representation of the continuous cycle of life and death.
How do you pronounce "ouroboros"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ouroboros" is /uːˈrɒbəˌrɒs/. 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 "ouroboros"?
From Ancient Greek οὐροβόρος (ourobóros, “tail-devouring”, a compound of οὐρά (ourá, “tail”) + -βόρος (-bóros, “-devouring”, which is derived from the verb βιβρώσκω (bibrṓskō, “to eat up”))). 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 "ouroboros", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

paparazzo#83,598parsimony#83,603pedagogic#83,608nightwear#83,559

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list