philtrum
/ˈfɪl.tɹəm/
"philtrum" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“philtrum” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The shallow vertical groove running from the nasal septum to the center of the upper lip.
Corpus desk
Index EN-philtrum · philtrum · English
philtrum · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-2 2 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 | philtrum |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈfɪl.tɹəm/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “philtrum” in English
Rare enough to double-check
philtrum is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈfɪl.tɹəm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
philtrum has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from the Latin philtrum (“a love potion”), from Ancient Greek φῐ́λτρον (phĭ́ltron, “a love charm; the dimple in the upper lip”). Doublet of philter. The correct English form is philtrum, spelled P-H-I-L-T-R-U-M.
Definition
- 1The shallow vertical groove running from the nasal septum to the center of the upper lip.
- 2The junction between the two halves of an animal's upper lip or nose.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how philtrum appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Oral intercommissural distance (mouth width) and philtrum length are useful measurements for diagnosis of wide or large mouth (macrostomia), small mouth (microstomia), long philtrum and short philtrum and form ‘good handles’ in syndromic delineation.
Upper lip reconstruction is more difficult than lower lip reconstruction because the upper lip has a central structure, the philtrum.[…]Wounds adjacent to the philtrum that are closed primarily may shift the philtrum to the affected side. However, with time, the philtrum will tend to return to its midline position.
Etymology
Borrowed from the Latin philtrum (“a love potion”), from Ancient Greek φῐ́λτρον (phĭ́ltron, “a love charm; the dimple in the upper lip”). Doublet of philter.
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.