rapine

/ˈɹæpaɪn/

//ˈɹæpaɪn// noun

"rapine" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“rapine” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The seizure of someone's property by force; pillage; plunder.

Corpus desk

Index EN-rapine · rapine · English

rapine · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "R" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for rapine
PropertyValue
Headwordrapine
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɹæpaɪn/
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “rapine” in English

rapinesits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

rapine is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɹæpaɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The seizure of someone's property by force; pillage; plunder.".

No misspelling variants are generated for rapine in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English rapyne, from Old French rapine, from Latin rapīna, from rapiō. Doublet of ravine. The correct English form is rapine, spelled R-A-P-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The seizure of someone's property by force; pillage; plunder.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. This countrey ſwarmes with vile outragious men, That liue by rapine and by lawleſſe ſpoile, Fit ſouldiers for the wicked Tamburlaine.
  2. Good Rapine, stab him: he is a ravisher.

Etymology

From Middle English rapyne, from Old French rapine, from Latin rapīna, from rapiō. Doublet of ravine.

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "rapine"?
"rapine" is spelled R-A-P-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɹæpaɪn/.
What does "rapine" mean?
As a noun, "rapine" means: The seizure of someone's property by force; pillage; plunder.
How do you pronounce "rapine"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rapine" is /ˈɹæpaɪn/. 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 "rapine"?
From Middle English rapyne, from Old French rapine, from Latin rapīna, from rapiō. Doublet of ravine. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list