psittacosis
/ˌsitəˈkoʊsɪs/
"psittacosis" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“psittacosis” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An infection by Chlamydia bacteria, caught from infected birds, and characterised by fever, pneumonia and headaches.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | psittacosis |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌsitəˈkoʊsɪs/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “psittacosis” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
psittacosis is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌsitəˈkoʊsɪs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An infection by Chlamydia bacteria, caught from infected birds, and characterised by fever, pneumonia and headaches.".
No misspelling variants are generated for psittacosis in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin psittacus (“parrot”) + -osis. By surface analysis, psittac- + -osis. The correct English form is psittacosis, spelled P-S-I-T-T-A-C-O-S-I-S.
Definition
- 1An infection by Chlamydia bacteria, caught from infected birds, and characterised by fever, pneumonia and headaches.
Etymology
From Latin psittacus (“parrot”) + -osis. By surface analysis, psittac- + -osis.
Synonyms
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
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Using “psittacosis”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-S-I-T-T-A-C-O-S-I-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌsitəˈkoʊsɪs/ (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
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.