pennyroyal
/pɛ̝nɪˈɹɔɪ̯əl/
"pennyroyal" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pennyroyal” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Mentha pulegium, a plant of the mint family, formerly much used in various medicinal treatments and as a flea repellent.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pennyroyal |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /pɛ̝nɪˈɹɔɪ̯əl/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “pennyroyal” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for pennyroyal is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɛ̝nɪˈɹɔɪ̯əl/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No misspelling variants are generated for pennyroyal in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Apparently an alteration (after penny) of Anglo-Norman puliol royal, from Latin pūlegium. The correct English form is pennyroyal, spelled P-E-N-N-Y-R-O-Y-A-L.
Definition
- 1Mentha pulegium, a plant of the mint family, formerly much used in various medicinal treatments and as a flea repellent.
- 2A traditional old well-known song, especially a spiritual folksong.
Etymology
Apparently an alteration (after penny) of Anglo-Norman puliol royal, from Latin pūlegium.
Synonyms
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “pennyroyal”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-E-N-N-Y-R-O-Y-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /pɛ̝nɪˈɹɔɪ̯əl/ (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.