rutabaga
/ˈɹutəˌbeɪɡə/
"rutabaga" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“rutabaga” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The swede, or Swedish turnip; the European plant Brassica napus var. napobrassica
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | rutabaga |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɹutəˌbeɪɡə/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “rutabaga” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
rutabaga is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɹutəˌbeɪɡə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for rutabaga in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in 1799, borrowed from Swedish rotabagge, a dialectal word from Västergötland, from rot (“root”) + bagge (“lump, bunch”). The correct English form is rutabaga, spelled R-U-T-A-B-A-G-A.
Definition
- 1The swede, or Swedish turnip; the European plant Brassica napus var. napobrassica
- 2The edible root of this plant
Etymology
First attested in 1799, borrowed from Swedish rotabagge, a dialectal word from Västergötland, from rot (“root”) + bagge (“lump, bunch”).
Synonyms
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
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Using “rutabaga”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-U-T-A-B-A-G-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɹutəˌbeɪɡə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.