rath

/ɹɑːθ/

//ɹɑːθ// noun

"rath" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“rath” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #40,411. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#40,411
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A walled enclosure, especially in Ireland; a ringfort built sometime between the Iron Age and the Viking Age.

Corpus desk

Index EN-rath · rath · English

rath · rank #40,411 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #40,411
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH Reade

Nearest frequency peer: Reade (+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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “rath”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “rath” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

rath vs RT
0% similar
rath vs RH
0% similar
rath vs ray
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for rath
PropertyValue
Headwordrath
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɹɑːθ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#40,411
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “rath”

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).rathlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Reade” (#40,412), “purring” (#40,408), “punctuality” (#40,407). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “rath” is #40,411. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around rath (IPA /ɹɑːθ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #40,411 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A walled enclosure, especially in Ireland; a ringfort built sometime between the Iron Age and the Viking Age.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for rath, with forms such as "arth", "raht", and "rathh". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "RT", "RH", "ray", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Old Irish ráth. The correct English form is rath, spelled R-A-T-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    A walled enclosure, especially in Ireland; a ringfort built sometime between the Iron Age and the Viking Age.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. There are numerous Danish raths in the parish.
  2. Those with Celtic legendry in their heritage—mainly the Scotch-Irish element of New Hampshire, and their kindred who had settled in Vermont on Governor Wentworth’s colonial grants—linked them vaguely with the malign fairies and “little people” of the bogs and raths, and protected themselves with scraps of incantation handed down through many generations.

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Irish ráth.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • arth
  • raht
  • rathh
  • ratth
  • rrath
  • rtah

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of rath - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

arth2raht2rathh1ratth1rrath1rtah2
Edit distance from "rath"

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 "rath"?
"rath" is spelled R-A-T-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹɑːθ/.
What does "rath" mean?
As a noun, "rath" means: A walled enclosure, especially in Ireland; a ringfort built sometime between the Iron Age and the Viking Age.
What words are commonly confused with "rath"?
"rath" is commonly confused with "RT", "RH", "ray". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "rath"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rath" is /ɹɑːθ/. 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 "rath"?
Borrowed from Old Irish ráth. 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 "rath", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list