pertussis

/pəˈtʌsɪs/

//pəˈtʌsɪs// noun

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

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

The verdict

“pertussis” is uncommon English (frequency #50,147 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#50,147
frequency rank, English
46,516
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Whooping cough.

Key facts for pertussis
PropertyValue
Headwordpertussis
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pəˈtʌsɪs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#50,147
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pertussis” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). pertussis lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pertussis is uncommon English at frequency #50,147 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /pəˈtʌsɪs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Whooping cough.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for pertussis in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From New Latin, from Latin per- (“thorough”) + tussis (“cough”). The correct English form is pertussis, spelled P-E-R-T-U-S-S-I-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Whooping cough.

Etymology

From New Latin, from Latin per- (“thorough”) + tussis (“cough”).

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 "pertussis"?
"pertussis" is spelled P-E-R-T-U-S-S-I-S. The IPA pronunciation is /pəˈtʌsɪs/.
What does "pertussis" mean?
As a noun, "pertussis" means: Whooping cough.
How do you pronounce "pertussis"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pertussis" is /pəˈtʌsɪs/. 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 "pertussis"?
From New Latin, from Latin per- (“thorough”) + tussis (“cough”). 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.

Using “pertussis”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-E-R-T-U-S-S-I-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /pəˈtʌsɪs/ (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

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list