Sapphic
/ˈsæf.ɪk/
"sapphic" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Sapphic” is uncommon English (frequency #92,038 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #92,038
- frequency rank, English
- 6,566
- “S” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Relating to the Greek poetess Sappho from Lesbos or her poetry.
Corpus desk
Index EN-sapphic · Sapphic · English
Sapphic · rank #92,038 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #92,038
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 6,566
- PHOTO-FINISH sangeet
Nearest frequency peer: sangeet (-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.
Long-tail ranks near “Sapphic”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- samphire
samphire
7,968 corpus weight
- sandpit
sandpit
7,965 corpus weight
- sangeet
sangeet
7,964 corpus weight
- Sapphic
Sapphic
7,963 corpus weight
- sare
sare
7,962 corpus weight
- sauced
sauced
7,959 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “Sapphic” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Sapphic |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈsæf.ɪk/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #92,038 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “Sapphic” in English
Rare enough to double-check
Sapphic is uncommon English at frequency #92,038 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈsæf.ɪk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for Sapphic in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Sappho (Ancient Greek Σαπφώ (Sapphṓ)) + -ic, whence Latin Sapphicus. Sense related to sexuality alludes to Sappho's poetry discussing love between women (see also lesbian). The correct English form is Sapphic, spelled S-A-P-P-H-I-C.
Definition
- 1Relating to the Greek poetess Sappho from Lesbos or her poetry.
- 2Of a certain kind of verse reputed to have been invented by Sappho, consisting of five metrical feet, of which the first, fourth, and fifth are trochees, the second is a spondee, and the third a dactyl.
- 3Alternative letter-case form of sapphic.
Etymology
Sappho (Ancient Greek Σαπφώ (Sapphṓ)) + -ic, whence Latin Sapphicus. Sense related to sexuality alludes to Sappho's poetry discussing love between women (see also lesbian).
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); 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 "Sapphic"?
What does "Sapphic" mean?
How do you pronounce "Sapphic"?
What is the origin of the word "Sapphic"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Sapphic", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).