propolis
/ˈpɹɒ.pə.lɪs/
"propolis" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“propolis” is uncommon English (frequency #99,732 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #99,732
- frequency rank, English
- 46,516
- “P” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An aromatic glue-like substance produced by honeybees from tree resin, waxes, and their own secretions, used in the construction of their hives.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | propolis |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpɹɒ.pə.lɪs/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #99,732 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “propolis” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
propolis is uncommon English at frequency #99,732 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpɹɒ.pə.lɪs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An aromatic glue-like substance produced by honeybees from tree resin, waxes, and their own secretions, used in the construction of their hives.".
propolis doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin propolis, from Hellenistic Ancient Greek πρόπολις (própolis, “suburb; propolis”) (apparently because the material was used by bees to extend their hives), from Ancient Greek προ- (pro-, “pro-”) + πόλις (pólis, “city”). The correct English form is propolis, spelled P-R-O-P-O-L-I-S.
Definition
- 1An aromatic glue-like substance produced by honeybees from tree resin, waxes, and their own secretions, used in the construction of their hives.
Etymology
From Latin propolis, from Hellenistic Ancient Greek πρόπολις (própolis, “suburb; propolis”) (apparently because the material was used by bees to extend their hives), from Ancient Greek προ- (pro-, “pro-”) + πόλις (pólis, “city”).
This word in other languages
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
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Using “propolis”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-R-O-P-O-L-I-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpɹɒ.pə.lɪs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.