English Word Reference Free

rachel

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

6 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "rachel", 6-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "rachel" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "rachel" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

Rachel is aEnglishname. It means: Younger daughter of Laban, sister to Leah, and second wife of Jacob. Pronounced /ˈɹeɪ.tʃəl/. It ranks #5,621 in English word frequency. Often confused with Rahul and roche.

Key facts for Rachel
PropertyValue
HeadwordRachel
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechName
IPA/ˈɹeɪ.tʃəl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#5,621
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of Rachel in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for Rachel is 6 letters long, classified as aname, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɹeɪ.tʃəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,621 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 9 documented wrong-spelling variants for Rachel, with forms such as "archel", "racchel", and "racehl". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Rahul", "roche", "ravel", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Late Latin Rāchēl, from Ancient Greek Ῥαχήλ (Rhakhḗl), from Biblical Hebrew רָחֵל (rāḫēl, “ewe”). Doublet of Raquel. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is Rachel, spelled R-A-C-H-E-L, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Younger daughter of Laban, sister to Leah, and second wife of Jacob.
  2. 2
    A female given name from Hebrew.
  3. 3
    A census-designated place in Lincoln County, Nevada, United States; named for the first baby born in the town.
  4. 4
    A census-designated place in Marion County, West Virginia, United States; named for the daughter of a local mine owner.

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin Rāchēl, from Ancient Greek Ῥαχήλ (Rhakhḗl), from Biblical Hebrew רָחֵל (rāḫēl, “ewe”). Doublet of Raquel.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: archel,racchel,racehl,rachell,rachhel,rachle,rahcel,rcahel,rrachel

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for Rachel

Misspelling Variants of "Rachel"

archel6racchel7racehl6rachell7rachhel7rachle6rahcel6rcahel6
Misspelling Variants of "Rachel"

Frequency rank: #5,621 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Rachel"?
"Rachel" is spelled R-A-C-H-E-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɹeɪ.tʃəl/.
What does "Rachel" mean?
As a name, "Rachel" means: Younger daughter of Laban, sister to Leah, and second wife of Jacob.
What words are commonly confused with "Rachel"?
"Rachel" is commonly confused with "Rahul", "roche", "ravel". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Rachel"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Rachel" is /ˈɹeɪ.tʃəl/. 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 "Rachel"?
Borrowed from Late Latin Rāchēl, from Ancient Greek Ῥαχήλ (Rhakhḗl), from Biblical Hebrew רָחֵל (rāḫēl, “ewe”). Doublet of Raquel. 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter R in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.