patristic
"patristic" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“patristic” is uncommon English (frequency #73,515 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #73,515
- frequency rank, English
- 4,417
- “P” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of or pertaining to the fathers of the early Christian church, especially their writings.
Corpus desk
Index EN-patristic · patristic · English
patristic · rank #73,515 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #73,515
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,417
- PHOTO-FINISH paperboard
Nearest frequency peer: paperboard (-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 “patristic”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- palmed
palmed
26,490 corpus weight
- paperboard
paperboard
26,487 corpus weight
- patristic
patristic
26,486 corpus weight
- penicillium
penicillium
26,484 corpus weight
- penna
penna
26,483 corpus weight
- personae
personae
26,482 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “patristic” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | patristic |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #73,515 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “patristic” in English
Rare enough to double-check
patristic is uncommon English at frequency #73,515 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
patristic has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From patri- + -istic. The correct English form is patristic, spelled P-A-T-R-I-S-T-I-C.
Definition
- 1Of or pertaining to the fathers of the early Christian church, especially their writings.
- 2Relating to a lineage.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how patristic appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The word modern was a term of reproach used by patristic humanists against the medieval schoolmen who developed the new logic and physics.
Etymology
From patri- + -istic.
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
How do you spell "patristic"?
What does "patristic" mean?
What is the origin of the word "patristic"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "patristic", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).