prebendary

/ˈpɹɛbəndəɹi/

//ˈpɹɛbəndəɹi// noun

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

"prebendary" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“prebendary” is uncommon English (frequency #88,730 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#88,730
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An honorary canon of a cathedral or collegiate church.

Corpus desk

Index EN-prebendary · prebendary · English

prebendary · rank #88,730 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #88,730
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH precure

Nearest frequency peer: precure (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “prebendary”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “prebendary” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for prebendary
PropertyValue
Headwordprebendary
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɹɛbəndəɹi/
Letters10
Frequency rank#88,730
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “prebendary” in English

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “precure” (#88,731), “pouts” (#88,728), “potatoe” (#88,727). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “prebendary” is #88,730. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

prebendary is uncommon English at frequency #88,730 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpɹɛbəndəɹi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An honorary canon of a cathedral or collegiate church.".

prebendary has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Medieval Latin praebendārius, from Late Latin praebenda (“literally ‘things to be supplied’; prebend”), neuter plural of gerundive of praebeō (“supply”), from prae- (“pre-”) + habeō (“have, hold”). The correct English form is prebendary, spelled P-R-E-B-E-N-D-A-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    An honorary canon of a cathedral or collegiate church.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how prebendary appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Among the prebendaries have been men eminent for their learning and piety: as Lancelot Andrews, bishop of Winchester, Dr. Sherlock, Archdeacon Paley, and the Rev. William Beloe, B.D. well known by his translation of Herodotus.
  2. Wolverhampton church, dedicated to St. Mary, was a collegiate establishment, with a dean as president, and a number of prebendaries or canons who were “secular” priests, and not brethren of any of the regular “orders of monks.” […] A prebendary, it may be explained, is one who enjoys a prebend or canonical portion; that is, who receives in right of his pl…

Etymology

From Medieval Latin praebendārius, from Late Latin praebenda (“literally ‘things to be supplied’; prebend”), neuter plural of gerundive of praebeō (“supply”), from prae- (“pre-”) + habeō (“have, hold”).

This word in other languages

prebendado(Español)prébendier(Français)Pfründner(Deutsch)

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 "prebendary"?
"prebendary" is spelled P-R-E-B-E-N-D-A-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɹɛbəndəɹi/.
What does "prebendary" mean?
As a noun, "prebendary" means: An honorary canon of a cathedral or collegiate church.
How do you pronounce "prebendary"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prebendary" is /ˈpɹɛbəndəɹi/. 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 "prebendary"?
From Medieval Latin praebendārius, from Late Latin praebenda (“literally ‘things to be supplied’; prebend”), neuter plural of gerundive of praebeō (“supply”), from prae- (“pre-”) + habeō (“have, hold”). 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 "prebendary", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

polyhedron#88,723protractor#88,742plasticine#88,716permanency#88,704

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list