Ptolemaic
/ˌtɒl.əˈmeɪ.ɪk/
"ptolemaic" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Ptolemaic” is uncommon English (frequency #64,637 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #64,637
- frequency rank, English
- 46,516
- “P” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of or pertaining to the Ptolemy dynasty of pharaohs, the Ptolemies, rulers of Hellenistic Egypt.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Ptolemaic |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌtɒl.əˈmeɪ.ɪk/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #64,637 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Ptolemaic” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
Ptolemaic is uncommon English at frequency #64,637 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˌtɒl.əˈmeɪ.ɪk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Ptolemaic has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Via Latin Ptolemāicus from Koine Greek Πτολεμᾱϊκός (Ptolemāïkós) from Πτολεμαῖος (Ptolemaîos), a proper name derived from Epic Greek πτόλεμος (ptólemos), variant of Ancient Greek πόλεμος (pólemos, “battle, war”); equivalent to Ptolemy + -ic. The correct English form is Ptolemaic, spelled P-T-O-L-E-M-A-I-C.
Definition
- 1Of or pertaining to the Ptolemy dynasty of pharaohs, the Ptolemies, rulers of Hellenistic Egypt.
- 2Of or pertaining to the astronomer Claudius Ptolemy.
Etymology
Via Latin Ptolemāicus from Koine Greek Πτολεμᾱϊκός (Ptolemāïkós) from Πτολεμαῖος (Ptolemaîos), a proper name derived from Epic Greek πτόλεμος (ptólemos), variant of Ancient Greek πόλεμος (pólemos, “battle, war”); equivalent to Ptolemy + -ic.
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); 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 "Ptolemaic"?
What does "Ptolemaic" mean?
How do you pronounce "Ptolemaic"?
What is the origin of the word "Ptolemaic"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “Ptolemaic”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-T-O-L-E-M-A-I-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌtɒl.əˈmeɪ.ɪk/ (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.