princess

/pɹɪnˈsɛs/

//pɹɪnˈsɛs// noun

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

"princess" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“princess” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,850. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,850
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A female member of a royal family other than a queen, especially a daughter or granddaughter of a monarch.

Corpus desk

Index EN-princess · princess · English

princess · rank #2,850 · 10 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,850
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pounds

Nearest frequency peer: pounds (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “princess”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “princess” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

princess vs process
75% similar
princess vs prices
75% similar
princess vs prince
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for princess
PropertyValue
Headwordprincess
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pɹɪnˈsɛs/
Letters8
Frequency rank#2,850
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “princess”

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).princesslands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “pounds” (#2,849), “protein” (#2,851), “portion” (#2,848). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “princess” is #2,850. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around princess (IPA /pɹɪnˈsɛs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,850 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for princess, with forms such as "pirncess", "pprincess", and "pricness". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "process", "prices", "prince", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English princesse, a borrowing from Anglo-Norman princesse, Old French princesse. By surface analysis, prince + -ess. The correct English form is princess, spelled P-R-I-N-C-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A female member of a royal family other than a queen, especially a daughter or granddaughter of a monarch.
  2. 2
    A woman or girl who excels in a given field or class.
  3. 3
    A female ruler or monarch; a queen.
  4. 4
    The wife of a prince; the female ruler of a principality.
  5. 5
    A young girl; used as a term of endearment.
  6. 6
    A young girl or woman (or less commonly a man) who is vain, spoiled, or selfish; a prima donna.
  7. 7
    A tinted crystal marble used in children's games.
  8. 8
    A type of court card in the Tarot pack, coming between the 10 and the prince (Jack).
  9. 9
    A female lemur.
  10. 10
    A Bulgarian open-faced baked sandwich prepared with ground meat.
  11. 11
    A fairy chess piece which combines the moves of the bishop and the knight.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. She did not cry long, however, for she was as brave as could be expected of a princess of her age.
  2. Michael Jackson was the king of pop. Britney Spears was the pop princess. Until they weren't.

Etymology

From Middle English princesse, a borrowing from Anglo-Norman princesse, Old French princesse. By surface analysis, prince + -ess.

This word in other languages

princesa(Español)princesse(Français)Prinzessin(Deutsch)princesa(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • pirncess
  • pprincess
  • pricness
  • princcess
  • princses
  • prinecss
  • prinncess
  • prnicess
  • prrincess
  • rpincess

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of princess - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

pirncess2pprincess1pricness2princcess1princses2prinecss2prinncess1prnicess2
Edit distance from "princess"

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 "princess"?
"princess" is spelled P-R-I-N-C-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /pɹɪnˈsɛs/.
What does "princess" mean?
As a noun, "princess" means: A female member of a royal family other than a queen, especially a daughter or granddaughter of a monarch.
What words are commonly confused with "princess"?
"princess" is commonly confused with "process", "prices", "prince". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "princess"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "princess" is /pɹɪnˈsɛs/. 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 "princess"?
From Middle English princesse, a borrowing from Anglo-Norman princesse, Old French princesse. By surface analysis, prince + -ess. 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 "princess", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ultimate#2,869attached#2,873attacked#2,874Carolina#2,882

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

protein10 variantsregions10 variantsinvited10 variantssomehow10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list