primogeniture

/ˌprʌɪmə(ʊ)ˈdʒɛnɪtʃə/

//ˌprʌɪmə(ʊ)ˈdʒɛnɪtʃə// noun

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

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

The verdict

“primogeniture” is uncommon English (frequency #78,957 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#78,957
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The state of being the firstborn of the children of the same parents.

Corpus desk

Index EN-primogeniture · primogeniture · English

primogeniture · rank #78,957 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #78,957
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH princeps

Nearest frequency peer: princeps (+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 “primogeniture”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for primogeniture
PropertyValue
Headwordprimogeniture
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌprʌɪmə(ʊ)ˈdʒɛnɪtʃə/
Letters13
Frequency rank#78,957
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “primogeniture” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).primogeniturefalls 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: “princeps” (#78,958), “presupposition” (#78,955), “Priti” (#78,959). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “primogeniture” is #78,957. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

primogeniture is uncommon English at frequency #78,957 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌprʌɪmə(ʊ)ˈdʒɛnɪtʃə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

primogeniture doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French, from Late Latin primogenitura, from Latin primus (“first”) + genitura (“birth”) (from genitus, past participle of gignere). The correct English form is primogeniture, spelled P-R-I-M-O-G-E-N-I-T-U-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The state of being the firstborn of the children of the same parents.
  2. 2
    The principle that the eldest child has an exclusive right of inheritance.
  3. 3
    An instance of such a right of inheritance, established by custom or law.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. On these grounds, I contend the mere possession of large property, which is all that primogeniture insures, is by no means a sufficient and unobjectionable qualification for a legislator.
  2. Anglo-Saxon kings did not succeed on the basis of primogeniture. All the kings offspring were known as aethelings -- throneworthy -- and from this gene pool the royal family would select the aetheling who seemed best qualified for the job.

Etymology

From French, from Late Latin primogenitura, from Latin primus (“first”) + genitura (“birth”) (from genitus, past participle of gignere).

Antonyms

ultimogeniturepostremogeniture

This word in other languages

mayorazgo(Español)aînesse(Français)Primogenitur(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 "primogeniture"?
"primogeniture" is spelled P-R-I-M-O-G-E-N-I-T-U-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌprʌɪmə(ʊ)ˈdʒɛnɪtʃə/.
What does "primogeniture" mean?
As a noun, "primogeniture" means: The state of being the firstborn of the children of the same parents.
How do you pronounce "primogeniture"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "primogeniture" is /ˌprʌɪmə(ʊ)ˈdʒɛnɪtʃə/. 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 "primogeniture"?
From French, from Late Latin primogenitura, from Latin primus (“first”) + genitura (“birth”) (from genitus, past participle of gignere). 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 "primogeniture", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

pentobarbital#78,933reaffirmation#78,989reformulation#78,999nonconformity#78,873

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list