Samaritan

/səˈmæɹɪtən/

//səˈmæɹɪtən// noun

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

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

The verdict

“Samaritan” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,981. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,981
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A native, or inhabitant of Samaria; especially one practising certain ethnoreligious traditions indigenous to that region.

Corpus desk

Index EN-samaritan · Samaritan · English

Samaritan · rank #23,981 · 13 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #23,981
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sax

Nearest frequency peer: sax (+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 “Samaritan”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “Samaritan” 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).

Samaritan vs Samaria
78% similar

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

Key facts for Samaritan
PropertyValue
HeadwordSamaritan
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/səˈmæɹɪtən/
Letters9
Frequency rank#23,981
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Samaritan”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).Samaritanlands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “sax” (#23,982), “Ruben” (#23,979), “saxophone” (#23,983). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “Samaritan” is #23,981. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around Samaritan (IPA /səˈmæɹɪtən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #23,981 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for Samaritan, with forms such as "asmaritan", "saamritan", and "samairtan". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "Samaria", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin Samarītānus, from Ancient Greek Σαμαρείτης (Samareítēs), from Σαμαρεία (Samareía, “Samaria”), derived from Biblical Hebrew שֹׁמְרוֹנִים (Šōmərôním) and שֹׁמְרוֹן (Šōmərôn) respectively. Attested in Old English. The correct English form is Samaritan, spelled S-A-M-A-R-I-T-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A native, or inhabitant of Samaria; especially one practising certain ethnoreligious traditions indigenous to that region.
  2. 2
    A charitable person, one who helps others (from the Bible story in Luke 10:30–37).
  3. 3
    A person who works for the Samaritans telephone helpline, taking calls from suicidal members of the public.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Many of these despised people built a rival temple on Mount Gerizim in the central Palestinian territory known as Samaria, and hence they were called Samaritans (a word of contempt to Jews); in very reduced numbers, they still live round their sacred mountain now.

Etymology

From Latin Samarītānus, from Ancient Greek Σαμαρείτης (Samareítēs), from Σαμαρεία (Samareía, “Samaria”), derived from Biblical Hebrew שֹׁמְרוֹנִים (Šōmərôním) and שֹׁמְרוֹן (Šōmərôn) respectively. Attested in Old English.

This word in other languages

Samaritain(Français)Samariter(Deutsch)samaritano(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • asmaritan
  • saamritan
  • samairtan
  • samariatn
  • samaritann
  • samaritna
  • samarittan
  • samarritan
  • samartian
  • sammaritan
  • samraitan
  • smaaritan
  • ssamaritan

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Samaritan - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

asmaritan2saamritan2samairtan2samariatn2samaritann1samaritna2samarittan1samarritan1
Edit distance from "Samaritan"

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 "Samaritan"?
"Samaritan" is spelled S-A-M-A-R-I-T-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is /səˈmæɹɪtən/.
What does "Samaritan" mean?
As a noun, "Samaritan" means: A native, or inhabitant of Samaria; especially one practising certain ethnoreligious traditions indigenous to that region.
What words are commonly confused with "Samaritan"?
"Samaritan" is commonly confused with "Samaria". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Samaritan"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Samaritan" is /səˈmæɹɪtən/. 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 "Samaritan"?
From Latin Samarītānus, from Ancient Greek Σαμαρείτης (Samareítēs), from Σαμαρεία (Samareía, “Samaria”), derived from Biblical Hebrew שֹׁמְרוֹנִים (Šōmərôním) and שֹׁמְרוֹן (Šōmərôn) respectively. Attested in Old English. 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 "Samaritan", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

saxophone#23,983Rotherham#23,978shellfish#23,991showering#23,993

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

Schuster13 variantsshrapnel13 variantsquadruple13 variantsthwarted13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list