propolis
/ˈpɹɒ.pə.lɪs/
"propolis" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“propolis” is uncommon English (frequency #99,732 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #99,732
- frequency rank, English
- 4,417
- “P” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An aromatic glue-like substance produced by honeybees from tree resin, waxes, and their own secretions, used in the construction of their hives.
Corpus desk
Index EN-propolis · propolis · English
propolis · rank #99,732 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #99,732
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,417
- PHOTO-FINISH prorogation
Nearest frequency peer: prorogation (+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 “propolis”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- prekinderga…
prekindergarten
275 corpus weight
- preshow
preshow
274 corpus weight
- proinflamma…
proinflammatory
272 corpus weight
- propolis
propolis
269 corpus weight
- prorogation
prorogation
268 corpus weight
- puffiness
puffiness
265 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “propolis” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| 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) |
Long-tail rank of “propolis” in English
Rare enough to double-check
propolis is uncommon English at frequency #99,732 among 4,417 “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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "propolis", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).