personal union
"personal-union" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“personal union” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 14
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The situation of two or more states sharing the same monarch, usually also with shared dynastic succession.
Corpus desk
Index EN-personal-union · personal union · English
personal union · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 14 letters
- VOW-6 6 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | personal union |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 14 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “personal union” in English
Rare enough to double-check
personal union is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for personal union, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: In the political sense, calque of German persönliche Vereinigung (attributed to German jurist Johann Stephan Pütter, 1777). The correct English form is personal union, spelled P-E-R-S-O-N-A-L- -U-N-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1The situation of two or more states sharing the same monarch, usually also with shared dynastic succession.
- 2Hypostatic union; the union of Christ's humanity and divinity in one individual existence (person).
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how personal union appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, also known variously as the United Kingdoms, Sweden and Norway or Sweden–Norway, was a personal union of the separate kingdoms of Sweden and Norway under a common monarch and common foreign policy that lasted from 1814 until its peaceful dissolution in 1905.
Many personal unions were ended by differences in the monarchies' rules of dynastic succession, while disputes thereabout lead to dynastic wars.
Etymology
In the political sense, calque of German persönliche Vereinigung (attributed to German jurist Johann Stephan Pütter, 1777).
Synonyms
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.