poliomyelitis

/ˌpɒlɪəʊmaɪəˈlaɪtɪs/

//ˌpɒlɪəʊmaɪəˈlaɪtɪs// noun

"poliomyelitis" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“poliomyelitis” is uncommon English (frequency #93,028 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#93,028
frequency rank, English
46,516
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Acute infection by the poliovirus, especially of the motor neurons in the spinal cord and brainstem, leading to muscle weakness, paralysis and sometimes deformity.

Corpus desk

Index EN-poliomyelitis · poliomyelitis · English

poliomyelitis · rank #93,028 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #93,028
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-7 7 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 46,516
  • PHOTO-FINISH pocky

Nearest frequency peer: pocky (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “poliomyelitis”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “poliomyelitis” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026
Key facts for poliomyelitis
PropertyValue
Headwordpoliomyelitis
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌpɒlɪəʊmaɪəˈlaɪtɪs/
Letters13
Frequency rank#93,028
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “poliomyelitis” 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). poliomyelitis 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

poliomyelitis is uncommon English at frequency #93,028 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌpɒlɪəʊmaɪəˈlaɪtɪs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Acute infection by the poliovirus, especially of the motor neurons in the spinal cord and brainstem, leading to muscle weakness, paralysis and sometimes deformity.".

No misspelling variants are generated for poliomyelitis in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from German Poliomyelitis, from the Ancient Greek πολιός (poliós, “grey”) + μυελός (muelós, “marrow”) + -ῖτις (-îtis, “-itis”). Compare French poliomyélite. The correct English form is poliomyelitis, spelled P-O-L-I-O-M-Y-E-L-I-T-I-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Acute infection by the poliovirus, especially of the motor neurons in the spinal cord and brainstem, leading to muscle weakness, paralysis and sometimes deformity.

Etymology

Borrowed from German Poliomyelitis, from the Ancient Greek πολιός (poliós, “grey”) + μυελός (muelós, “marrow”) + -ῖτις (-îtis, “-itis”). Compare French poliomyélite.

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); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "poliomyelitis"?
"poliomyelitis" is spelled P-O-L-I-O-M-Y-E-L-I-T-I-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌpɒlɪəʊmaɪəˈlaɪtɪs/.
What does "poliomyelitis" mean?
As a noun, "poliomyelitis" means: Acute infection by the poliovirus, especially of the motor neurons in the spinal cord and brainstem, leading to muscle weakness, paralysis and sometimes deformity.
How do you pronounce "poliomyelitis"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "poliomyelitis" is /ˌpɒlɪəʊmaɪəˈlaɪtɪs/. 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 "poliomyelitis"?
Borrowed from German Poliomyelitis, from the Ancient Greek πολιός (poliós, “grey”) + μυελός (muelós, “marrow”) + -ῖτις (-îtis, “-itis”). Compare French poliomyélite. 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 "poliomyelitis", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 13 letters (nearest by frequency 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