psalmody

/ˈsɑː.mə.di/

//ˈsɑː.mə.di// noun

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

The verdict

“psalmody” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The singing or the writing of psalms.

Corpus desk

Index EN-psalmody · psalmody · English

psalmody · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "P" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for psalmody
PropertyValue
Headwordpsalmody
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsɑː.mə.di/
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “psalmody” in English

psalmodysits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

psalmody is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsɑː.mə.di/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for psalmody, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin psalmōdia, from Koine Greek ψαλμῳδίᾱ (psalmōidíā), from Ancient Greek ψαλμός (psalmós, “psalm”) + ᾠδή (ōidḗ, “song”). The correct English form is psalmody, spelled P-S-A-L-M-O-D-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The singing or the writing of psalms.
  2. 2
    A collection of psalms.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. They deserved the enmity of the Pagans; and some of them might deserve the reproaches of avarice and intemperance; of avarice, which they gratified with holy plunder, and of intemperance, which they indulged at the expense of the people, who foolishly admired their tattered garments, loud psalmody, and artificial paleness.
  2. All these strange antics were accompanied by still stranger guttural noises from the devotee, who seemed to be praying in a sing-song or else singing some pagan psalmody or other, during which his face twitched about in the most unnatural manner.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin psalmōdia, from Koine Greek ψαλμῳδίᾱ (psalmōidíā), from Ancient Greek ψαλμός (psalmós, “psalm”) + ᾠδή (ōidḗ, “song”).

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "psalmody"?
"psalmody" is spelled P-S-A-L-M-O-D-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɑː.mə.di/.
What does "psalmody" mean?
As a noun, "psalmody" means: The singing or the writing of psalms.
How do you pronounce "psalmody"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "psalmody" is /ˈsɑː.mə.di/. 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 "psalmody"?
Borrowed from Latin psalmōdia, from Koine Greek ψαλμῳδίᾱ (psalmōidíā), from Ancient Greek ψαλμός (psalmós, “psalm”) + ᾠδή (ōidḗ, “song”). 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list