primus
/ˈpɹaɪməs/
"primus" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“primus” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #40,847 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #40,847
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 18
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - One of the bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church, who presides at the meetings of the bishops, and has certain privileges but no metropolitan authority.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | primus |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpɹaɪməs/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #40,847 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 18 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “primus” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for primus is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpɹaɪməs/. Corpus data places it at rank #40,847 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "One of the bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church, who presides at the meetings of the bishops, and has certain privileges but no metropolitan authority.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for primus, with forms such as "pirmus", "pprimus", and "primmus". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 18 confusable-pair relationships, "Prius", "prints", "prizes", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin prīmus (“[the] first”); related to prior, the comparative form. Partially cognate to foremost, from Proto-Indo-European [Term?]. Doublet of prime and primo. The correct English form is primus, spelled P-R-I-M-U-S.
Definition
- 1One of the bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church, who presides at the meetings of the bishops, and has certain privileges but no metropolitan authority.
Etymology
From Latin prīmus (“[the] first”); related to prior, the comparative form. Partially cognate to foremost, from Proto-Indo-European [Term?]. Doublet of prime and primo.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: pirmus,pprimus,primmus,primsu,primuss,priums,prmius,prrimus,rpimus
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of primus - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "primus"?
What does "primus" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "primus"?
How do you pronounce "primus"?
What is the origin of the word "primus"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “primus”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-R-I-M-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpɹaɪməs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Prius” - see the side-by-side comparison. primus vs Prius
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.