scholar

/ˈskɒlə/

//ˈskɒlə// noun

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

"scholar" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“scholar” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,606. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,606
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A student; one who studies at school or college, typically having a scholarship.

Corpus desk

Index EN-scholar · scholar · English

scholar · rank #7,606 · 11 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,606
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Sara

Nearest frequency peer: Sara (-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 “scholar”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “scholar” 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).

scholar vs solar
71% similar
scholar vs Scholes
57% similar
scholar vs schooler
75% similar

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

Key facts for scholar
PropertyValue
Headwordscholar
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈskɒlə/
Letters7
Frequency rank#7,606
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “scholar”

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).scholarlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Sara” (#7,605), “revelation” (#7,604), “shoots” (#7,608). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “scholar” is #7,606. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around scholar (IPA /ˈskɒlə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,606 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for scholar, with forms such as "csholar", "sccholar", and "schholar". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "solar", "Scholes", "schooler", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English scolar, scolare, scoler, scolere (also scholer), from Old English scōlere (“scholar, learner”), from Late Latin scholāris, from schola (“school”), from Ancient Greek σχολή (skholḗ, “spare time, leisure", later, "conversations and the kno… The correct English form is scholar, spelled S-C-H-O-L-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A student; one who studies at school or college, typically having a scholarship.
  2. 2
    A specialist in a particular branch of knowledge.
  3. 3
    A learned person; a bookman.
  4. 4
    Someone who received a prestigious scholarship.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. The ability of a segment of a glass sphere to magnify whatever is placed before it was known around the year 1000, when the spherical segment was called a reading stone,[…]. Scribes, illuminators, and scholars held such stones directly over manuscript pages as an aid in seeing what was being written, drawn, or read.

Etymology

From Middle English scolar, scolare, scoler, scolere (also scholer), from Old English scōlere (“scholar, learner”), from Late Latin scholāris, from schola (“school”), from Ancient Greek σχολή (skholḗ, “spare time, leisure", later, "conversations and the knowledge gained through them during free time; the places where these conversations took place”), equivalent to school + -ar. Compare Saterland Frisian Sköiler, Middle Low German schö̂lære, schö̂lere, schö̂ler (> modern German Low German Schöler), Dutch scholier, German Schüler. Doublet of escolar.

This word in other languages

escolar(Español)étudiant(Français)Student(Deutsch)especialista(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • csholar
  • sccholar
  • schholar
  • schloar
  • schoalr
  • scholarr
  • schollar
  • scholra
  • scohlar
  • shcolar
  • sscholar

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of scholar - 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.

csholar2sccholar1schholar1schloar2schoalr2scholarr1schollar1scholra2
Edit distance from "scholar"

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 "scholar"?
"scholar" is spelled S-C-H-O-L-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈskɒlə/.
What does "scholar" mean?
As a noun, "scholar" means: A student; one who studies at school or college, typically having a scholarship.
What words are commonly confused with "scholar"?
"scholar" is commonly confused with "solar", "Scholes", "schooler". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "scholar"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "scholar" is /ˈskɒlə/. 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 "scholar"?
From Middle English scolar, scolare, scoler, scolere (also scholer), from Old English scōlere (“scholar, learner”), from Late Latin scholāris, from schola (“school”), from Ancient Greek σχολή (skholḗ, “spare time, leisure", later, "conversations a... 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 "scholar", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Rebecca#7,601stuffed#7,615preview#7,596suburbs#7,617

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

triumph11 variantsmaritime11 variantslinking11 variantsappealing11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list