publican

/ˈpʌblɪk(ə)n/

//ˈpʌblɪk(ə)n// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

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

The verdict

“publican” is uncommon English (frequency #52,572 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,572
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The landlord (manager or owner) of a public house (“a bar or tavern, often also selling food and sometimes lodging; a pub”).

Corpus desk

Index EN-publican · publican · English

publican · rank #52,572 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #52,572
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH ptr

Nearest frequency peer: ptr (-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 “publican”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “publican” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for publican
PropertyValue
Headwordpublican
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpʌblɪk(ə)n/
Letters8
Frequency rank#52,572
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “publican” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).publicanfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “ptr” (#52,571), “pumice” (#52,574), “pupa” (#52,576). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “publican” is #52,572. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

publican is uncommon English at frequency #52,572 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpʌblɪk(ə)n/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for publican in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Probably from public house (“(Britain) bar or tavern, often also selling food and sometimes lodging, pub”) or public (“open to all members of a community”) + -an (suffix forming agent nouns), apparently originally used humorously. The correct English form is publican, spelled P-U-B-L-I-C-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The landlord (manager or owner) of a public house (“a bar or tavern, often also selling food and sometimes lodging; a pub”).
  2. 2
    The manager or owner of a hotel.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer, / The publican 'e up an 'sez, 'We serve no red-coats here.'

Etymology

Probably from public house (“(Britain) bar or tavern, often also selling food and sometimes lodging, pub”) or public (“open to all members of a community”) + -an (suffix forming agent nouns), apparently originally used humorously.

This word in other languages

bistrot(Français)Wirt(Deutsch)

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 "publican"?
"publican" is spelled P-U-B-L-I-C-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpʌblɪk(ə)n/.
What does "publican" mean?
As a noun, "publican" means: The landlord (manager or owner) of a public house (“a bar or tavern, often also selling food and sometimes lodging; a pub”).
How do you pronounce "publican"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "publican" is /ˈpʌblɪk(ə)n/. 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 "publican"?
Probably from public house (“(Britain) bar or tavern, often also selling food and sometimes lodging, pub”) or public (“open to all members of a community”) + -an (suffix forming agent nouns), apparently originally used humorously. 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "publican", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

reassert#52,586righting#52,600Palmdale#52,542palisade#52,541

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list