pontifex
/ˈpɒn.təˌfɛks/
"pontifex" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pontifex” is uncommon English (frequency #77,105 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #77,105
- frequency rank, English
- 46,516
- “P” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A pontiff, state minister, or high priest, in Ancient Rome.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pontifex |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpɒn.təˌfɛks/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #77,105 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “pontifex” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
pontifex is uncommon English at frequency #77,105 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpɒn.təˌfɛks/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A pontiff, state minister, or high priest, in Ancient Rome.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for pontifex, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin pontifex. Doublet of pontiff. The correct English form is pontifex, spelled P-O-N-T-I-F-E-X.
Definition
- 1A pontiff, state minister, or high priest, in Ancient Rome.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin pontifex. Doublet of pontiff.
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
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Using “pontifex”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-O-N-T-I-F-E-X - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpɒn.təˌfɛks/ (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.