precession

noun

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

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

The verdict

“precession” is uncommon English (frequency #56,987 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#56,987
frequency rank, English
46,516
“P” headwords

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

Key facts for precession
PropertyValue
Headwordprecession
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Frequency rank#56,987
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “precession” 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). precession 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

precession is uncommon English at frequency #56,987 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for precession in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English precessioun, precession, from Medieval Latin prēcessiōn-, prēcessio, from Latin praecēdō. The correct English form is precession, spelled P-R-E-C-E-S-S-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Precedence.
  2. 2
    The wobbling motion of the axis of a spinning body when there is an external force acting on the axis.
  3. 3
    The slow gyration of the earth's axis around the pole of the ecliptic, caused mainly by the gravitational torque of the sun and moon.
  4. 4
    Any of several slow changes in an astronomical body's rotational or orbital parameters.

Etymology

From Middle English precessioun, precession, from Medieval Latin prēcessiōn-, prēcessio, from Latin praecēdō.

This word in other languages

precesión(Español)précession(Français)Präzession(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 "precession"?
"precession" is spelled P-R-E-C-E-S-S-I-O-N.
What does "precession" mean?
As a noun, "precession" means: Precedence.
What is the origin of the word "precession"?
From Middle English precessioun, precession, from Medieval Latin prēcessiōn-, prēcessio, from Latin praecēdō. 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 “precession”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is P-R-E-C-E-S-S-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • 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