pedagogue

/ˈpɛdəɡɒɡ/

//ˈpɛdəɡɒɡ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“pedagogue” is uncommon English (frequency #92,988 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#92,988
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A teacher or instructor of children; one whose occupation is to teach the young.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pedagogue · pedagogue · English

pedagogue · rank #92,988 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #92,988
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH peckish

Nearest frequency peer: peckish (-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 “pedagogue”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for pedagogue
PropertyValue
Headwordpedagogue
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɛdəɡɒɡ/
Letters9
Frequency rank#92,988
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “pedagogue” 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).pedagoguefalls 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: “peckish” (#92,987), “Pelagius” (#92,989), “penetrator” (#92,990). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pedagogue” is #92,988. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pedagogue is uncommon English at frequency #92,988 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpɛdəɡɒɡ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

pedagogue 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, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English pedagoge, from Middle French pedagogue, from Latin paedagōgus, from Ancient Greek παιδαγωγός (paidagōgós), from παῖς (paîs, “child”) + ἀγωγός (agōgós, “guide”) (from ἄγω (ágō, “lead”)). By surface analysis, ped- (“child”) + -agogue. The correct English form is pedagogue, spelled P-E-D-A-G-O-G-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A teacher or instructor of children; one whose occupation is to teach the young.
  2. 2
    A pedant; one who by teaching has become overly formal or pedantic in his or her ways; one who has the manner of a teacher.
  3. 3
    A slave who led the master's children to school, and had the charge of them generally.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Jones chid the pedagogue for his interruption, and then the stranger proceeded.
  2. "No, that won't work." Reynders sighed, not in frustration — she was an excellent pedagogue, and never got frustrated while instructing — but in mental exhaustion. This project was testing the limits of what she could handle, in her state, though that was nothing compared to the number it was doing on Udo's head. "But it doesn't need to work. ATCP doesn't…

Etymology

From Middle English pedagoge, from Middle French pedagogue, from Latin paedagōgus, from Ancient Greek παιδαγωγός (paidagōgós), from παῖς (paîs, “child”) + ἀγωγός (agōgós, “guide”) (from ἄγω (ágō, “lead”)). By surface analysis, ped- (“child”) + -agogue.

This word in other languages

pédagogue(Français)Pädagoge(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 "pedagogue"?
"pedagogue" is spelled P-E-D-A-G-O-G-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɛdəɡɒɡ/.
What does "pedagogue" mean?
As a noun, "pedagogue" means: A teacher or instructor of children; one whose occupation is to teach the young.
How do you pronounce "pedagogue"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pedagogue" is /ˈpɛdəɡɒɡ/. 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 "pedagogue"?
From Middle English pedagoge, from Middle French pedagogue, from Latin paedagōgus, from Ancient Greek παιδαγωγός (paidagōgós), from παῖς (paîs, “child”) + ἀγωγός (agōgós, “guide”) (from ἄγω (ágō, “lead”)). By surface analysis, ped- (“child”) + -ag... 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 "pedagogue", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

perforate#92,994permalink#92,996phenology#93,001phosphine#93,005

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list