scurvy
/ˈskɜːvi/
"scurvy" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“scurvy” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #40,435 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #40,435
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 8
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Affected or covered with scurf (“skin disease causing flakes of skin to fall off”) or scabs; scurfy, scabby; also, of or relating to a skin disease causing scurf or to scurvy (noun noun sense 1).
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | scurvy |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈskɜːvi/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #40,435 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 8 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “scurvy” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for scurvy is 6 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈskɜːvi/. Corpus data places it at rank #40,435 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for scurvy, with forms such as "csurvy", "sccurvy", and "scruvy". 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 8 confusable-pair relationships, "surly", "surry", "survey", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: The adjective is derived from Late Middle English scurvi, scurvy, variants of scurfi (“having scurf, scabby”), from scurf (“skin disease causing scabs or scales; flakes of skin that fall off due to a skin disease, etc.”) + -i (suffix forming adjectives). Sc… The correct English form is scurvy, spelled S-C-U-R-V-Y.
Definition
- 1Affected or covered with scurf (“skin disease causing flakes of skin to fall off”) or scabs; scurfy, scabby; also, of or relating to a skin disease causing scurf or to scurvy (noun noun sense 1).
- 2Of growths on plants: resembling scurf; scurfy.
- 3Of a person or thing: disgustingly mean; contemptible, despicable, low.
- 4Of the way someone is treated: poor, shabby.
Etymology
The adjective is derived from Late Middle English scurvi, scurvy, variants of scurfi (“having scurf, scabby”), from scurf (“skin disease causing scabs or scales; flakes of skin that fall off due to a skin disease, etc.”) + -i (suffix forming adjectives). Scurf is derived from Old English scurf, from Proto-Germanic *skurf- (“to gnaw”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut off, sever; to divide, separate”). By surface analysis, scurf (“skin disease; flakes of skin that fall off due to a skin disease; crust-like formations on the skin”) + -y (suffix meaning ‘having the quality of’ forming adjectives). The noun is derived from the adjective. It was used to translate the similar-sounding Dutch scheurbuik, French scorbut, Middle Low German schorbūk (“scurvy (disease)”), etc.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: csurvy,sccurvy,scruvy,scurrvy,scurvvy,scurvyy,scuryv,scuvry,sscurvy,sucrvy
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of scurvy - 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.
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 "scurvy"?
What does "scurvy" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "scurvy"?
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Using “scurvy”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-C-U-R-V-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈskɜːvi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “surly” - see the side-by-side comparison. scurvy vs surly
- 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.