perineum

/ˌpɛ.ɹɪˈniː.əm/

//ˌpɛ.ɹɪˈniː.əm// noun

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

"perineum" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“perineum” is uncommon English (frequency #75,283 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#75,283
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The region between the genitalia and anus.

Corpus desk

Index EN-perineum · perineum · English

perineum · rank #75,283 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #75,283
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH peptic

Nearest frequency peer: peptic (-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 “perineum”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for perineum
PropertyValue
Headwordperineum
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌpɛ.ɹɪˈniː.əm/
Letters8
Frequency rank#75,283
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “perineum” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).perineumfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “peptic” (#75,282), “pembina” (#75,281), “perovskite” (#75,285). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “perineum” is #75,283. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

perineum is uncommon English at frequency #75,283 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌpɛ.ɹɪˈniː.əm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The region between the genitalia and anus.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for perineum in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Late Latin perinaeum, from Ancient Greek περίναιον (perínaion, “space between the anus and scrotum”), from Ancient Greek περίνεος, περίνεοι (períneos, períneoi, “male genitals”), itself from earlier Ancient Greek περίς (perís, “penis”) through… The correct English form is perineum, spelled P-E-R-I-N-E-U-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    The region between the genitalia and anus.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He was attacked with complete retention of urine, after a debauch, and six weeks afterwards an abscess formed in the perineum, which eventually burst, leaving a fistulous opening, through which the urine continued to be discharged to the period of his admission into the Hospital.
  2. The prostate is surrounded by venous plexi and the perineum has a rich blood supply.

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin perinaeum, from Ancient Greek περίναιον (perínaion, “space between the anus and scrotum”), from Ancient Greek περίνεος, περίνεοι (períneos, períneoi, “male genitals”), itself from earlier Ancient Greek περίς (perís, “penis”) through influence from Ancient Greek πηρίς (pērís, “scrotum”).

Synonyms

Biffin's bridgeaintchabonchchoadgeishgoochgrundleguichenifkinnotchernotchaperineo-perineumtaint

This word in other languages

periné(Español)périnée(Français)Perineum(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 "perineum"?
"perineum" is spelled P-E-R-I-N-E-U-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌpɛ.ɹɪˈniː.əm/.
What does "perineum" mean?
As a noun, "perineum" means: The region between the genitalia and anus.
How do you pronounce "perineum"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "perineum" is /ˌpɛ.ɹɪˈniː.əm/. 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 "perineum"?
Borrowed from Late Latin perinaeum, from Ancient Greek περίναιον (perínaion, “space between the anus and scrotum”), from Ancient Greek περίνεος, περίνεοι (períneos, períneoi, “male genitals”), itself from earlier Ancient Greek περίς (perís, “penis... 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 "perineum", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

pawnshop#75,277pitiable#75,301Paganini#75,262Nylander#75,251

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list