Purim

/ˈpʊəɹɪm/

//ˈpʊəɹɪm// name

"purim" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Purim” is uncommon English (frequency #56,384 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#56,384
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A Jewish festival, celebrated on the 14th day of Adar, commemorating the deliverance of the Persian Jews from a complete massacre at the hand of Haman the Amalekite.

Corpus desk

Index EN-purim · Purim · English

Purim · rank #56,384 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #56,384
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH protestor

Nearest frequency peer: protestor (-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 “Purim”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Purim
PropertyValue
HeadwordPurim
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈpʊəɹɪm/
Letters5
Frequency rank#56,384
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Purim” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).Purimfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “protestor” (#56,383), “putts” (#56,385), “proline” (#56,381). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “Purim” is #56,384. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Purim is uncommon English at frequency #56,384 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /ˈpʊəɹɪm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for Purim in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. 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 Hebrew פּוּרִים (purím, literally “lots”). The correct English form is Purim, spelled P-U-R-I-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    A Jewish festival, celebrated on the 14th day of Adar, commemorating the deliverance of the Persian Jews from a complete massacre at the hand of Haman the Amalekite.
  2. 2
    A surname.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Today, Jews celebrate the holiday of Purim, a festival of revelry that commemorates their deliverance from an ancient genocidal plot. […] Traditionally, a scroll containing that book is read twice over the holiday, with listeners making noise to drown out the name of the story’s villain, Haman, a vizier who manipulated the Persian king into nearly eradica…

Etymology

From Hebrew פּוּרִים (purím, literally “lots”).

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 "Purim"?
"Purim" is spelled P-U-R-I-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpʊəɹɪm/.
What does "Purim" mean?
As a proper noun, "Purim" means: A Jewish festival, celebrated on the 14th day of Adar, commemorating the deliverance of the Persian Jews from a complete massacre at the hand of Haman the Amalekite.
How do you pronounce "Purim"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Purim" is /ˈpʊəɹɪm/. 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 "Purim"?
From Hebrew פּוּרִים (purím, literally “lots”). 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 "Purim", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list