patrimony

/ˈpat.ɹɪ.mə.ni/

//ˈpat.ɹɪ.mə.ni// noun

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

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

The verdict

“patrimony” is uncommon English (frequency #52,546 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,546
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A right or estate inherited from one's father; or, in a larger sense, from any male ancestor.

Corpus desk

Index EN-patrimony · patrimony · English

patrimony · rank #52,546 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #52,546
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pardo

Nearest frequency peer: pardo (-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 “patrimony”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for patrimony
PropertyValue
Headwordpatrimony
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpat.ɹɪ.mə.ni/
Letters9
Frequency rank#52,546
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “patrimony” 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).patrimonyfalls 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: “pardo” (#52,545), “perchance” (#52,547), “Pardew” (#52,544). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “patrimony” is #52,546. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

patrimony is uncommon English at frequency #52,546 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpat.ɹɪ.mə.ni/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for patrimony in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From earlier patrimoyne, from patremoyne, from Middle French patrimoine/patremoine, semilearned borrowing from Latin patrimōnium, from pater (“father”) + -mōnium (“state, condition”). First attested in 1513. By surface analysis, patri- + -mony. Compare matr… The correct English form is patrimony, spelled P-A-T-R-I-M-O-N-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A right or estate inherited from one's father; or, in a larger sense, from any male ancestor.
  2. 2
    Formerly, a church estate or endowment.

Etymology

From earlier patrimoyne, from patremoyne, from Middle French patrimoine/patremoine, semilearned borrowing from Latin patrimōnium, from pater (“father”) + -mōnium (“state, condition”). First attested in 1513. By surface analysis, patri- + -mony. Compare matrimony. Displaced native Old English fæderġestrēon.

This word in other languages

patrimonio(Español)patrimoine(Français)Patrimonium(Deutsch)património(Português)

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 "patrimony"?
"patrimony" is spelled P-A-T-R-I-M-O-N-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpat.ɹɪ.mə.ni/.
What does "patrimony" mean?
As a noun, "patrimony" means: A right or estate inherited from one's father; or, in a larger sense, from any male ancestor.
How do you pronounce "patrimony"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "patrimony" is /ˈpat.ɹɪ.mə.ni/. 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 "patrimony"?
From earlier patrimoyne, from patremoyne, from Middle French patrimoine/patremoine, semilearned borrowing from Latin patrimōnium, from pater (“father”) + -mōnium (“state, condition”). First attested in 1513. By surface analysis, patri- + -mony. Co... 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 "patrimony", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

perchance#52,547peshmerga#52,548Petrograd#52,549plaything#52,555

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list