quotidian

/kwə(ʊ)ˈtɪdɪən/

//kwə(ʊ)ˈtɪdɪən// adj

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

"quotidian" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“quotidian” is uncommon English (frequency #72,684 among 288 “Q” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#72,684
frequency rank, English
288
“Q” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Happening every day; daily.

Corpus desk

Index EN-quotidian · quotidian · English

quotidian · rank #72,684 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #72,684
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 288
  • PHOTO-FINISH quartering

Nearest frequency peer: quartering (-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 “quotidian”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for quotidian
PropertyValue
Headwordquotidian
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/kwə(ʊ)ˈtɪdɪən/
Letters9
Frequency rank#72,684
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “quotidian” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).quotidianfalls 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: “quartering” (#72,683), “Rachid” (#72,686), “Rachmaninoff” (#72,687). Among 288 “Q” headwords, “quotidian” is #72,684. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

quotidian is uncommon English at frequency #72,684 among 288 “Q” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /kwə(ʊ)ˈtɪdɪən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

quotidian doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Anglo-Norman cotidian, cotidien, Middle French cotidian, cotidien, and their source, Latin cottīdiānus, quōtīdiānus (“happening every day”), from adverb cottīdiē, quōtīdiē (“every day, daily”), from an unattested adjective derived from quot (“how many”… The correct English form is quotidian, spelled Q-U-O-T-I-D-I-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Happening every day; daily.
  2. 2
    Having the characteristics of something which can be seen, experienced, etc, every day or very commonly.
  3. 3
    Recurring every twenty-four hours or (more generally) daily (of symptoms, etc).
  4. 4
    Something which is considered humdrum or dull.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I know that the government's daily idea to solve the country's law and order problem is not meant to be taken too seriously, but every now and again I am moved to raise an eyebrow at the quotidian suggestion.
  2. The story or the painting would serve to connect the part with the whole, the event with the myth, the quotidian with the sacred.

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman cotidian, cotidien, Middle French cotidian, cotidien, and their source, Latin cottīdiānus, quōtīdiānus (“happening every day”), from adverb cottīdiē, quōtīdiē (“every day, daily”), from an unattested adjective derived from quot (“how many”) + locative form of diēs (“day”).

This word in other languages

cotidiano(Español)quotidien(Français)täglich(Deutsch)quotidiano(Português)

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 "quotidian"?
"quotidian" is spelled Q-U-O-T-I-D-I-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is /kwə(ʊ)ˈtɪdɪən/.
What does "quotidian" mean?
As an adjective, "quotidian" means: Happening every day; daily.
How do you pronounce "quotidian"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "quotidian" is /kwə(ʊ)ˈtɪdɪən/. 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 "quotidian"?
From Anglo-Norman cotidian, cotidien, Middle French cotidian, cotidien, and their source, Latin cottīdiānus, quōtīdiānus (“happening every day”), from adverb cottīdiē, quōtīdiē (“every day, daily”), from an unattested adjective derived from quot (... 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 "quotidian", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

pulsation#72,680plasterer#72,654rideshare#72,715rightward#72,717

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list