patrimony
/ˈpat.ɹɪ.mə.ni/
"patrimony" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“patrimony” is an uncommon English word, ranked #52,546 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #52,546
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A right or estate inherited from one's father; or, in a larger sense, from any male ancestor.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | patrimony |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpat.ɹɪ.mə.ni/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #52,546 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “patrimony” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for patrimony is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpat.ɹɪ.mə.ni/. Corpus data places it at rank #52,546 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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
- 1A right or estate inherited from one's father; or, in a larger sense, from any male ancestor.
- 2Formerly, 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
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
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Using “patrimony”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-A-T-R-I-M-O-N-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpat.ɹɪ.mə.ni/ (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.