selenium

/sɪˈliːni.əm/

//sɪˈliːni.əm// noun

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

"selenium" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“selenium” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #32,174. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#32,174
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
11
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A nonmetallic chemical element (symbol Se) with an atomic number of 34, used mainly in glassmaking and pigments and as a semiconductor.

Corpus desk

Index EN-selenium · selenium · English

selenium · rank #32,174 · 11 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #32,174
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH seclusion

Nearest frequency peer: seclusion (-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 “selenium”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “selenium” 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
Key facts for selenium
PropertyValue
Headwordselenium
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/sɪˈliːni.əm/
Letters8
Frequency rank#32,174
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “selenium”

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).seleniumlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “seclusion” (#32,173), “seashore” (#32,172), “Sewell” (#32,176). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “selenium” is #32,174. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around selenium (IPA /sɪˈliːni.əm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #32,174 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for selenium, with forms such as "eslenium", "seelnium", and "seleinum". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French sélénium, the name coined by Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius in 1818 from Ancient Greek σελήνη (selḗnē, “moon”) in reference to original confusion with the similar element tellurium. The correct English form is selenium, spelled S-E-L-E-N-I-U-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    A nonmetallic chemical element (symbol Se) with an atomic number of 34, used mainly in glassmaking and pigments and as a semiconductor.
  2. 2
    A single atom of this element.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Pluck almost any cell from your body and it will have a million or more selenium atoms in it.

Etymology

From French sélénium, the name coined by Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius in 1818 from Ancient Greek σελήνη (selḗnē, “moon”) in reference to original confusion with the similar element tellurium.

This word in other languages

selenio(Español)sélénium(Français)Selen(Deutsch)selénio(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eslenium
  • seelnium
  • seleinum
  • selenimu
  • seleniumm
  • selennium
  • selenuim
  • sellenium
  • selneium
  • sleenium
  • sselenium

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of selenium - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

eslenium2seelnium2seleinum2selenimu2seleniumm1selennium1selenuim2sellenium1
Edit distance from "selenium"

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 "selenium"?
"selenium" is spelled S-E-L-E-N-I-U-M. The IPA pronunciation is /sɪˈliːni.əm/.
What does "selenium" mean?
As a noun, "selenium" means: A nonmetallic chemical element (symbol Se) with an atomic number of 34, used mainly in glassmaking and pigments and as a semiconductor.
What are common misspellings of "selenium"?
Common misspellings include "eslenium", "seelnium", "seleinum", "selenimu", "seleniumm". The correct spelling is "selenium".
How do you pronounce "selenium"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "selenium" is /sɪˈliːni.əm/. 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 "selenium"?
From French sélénium, the name coined by Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius in 1818 from Ancient Greek σελήνη (selḗnē, “moon”) in reference to original confusion with the similar element tellurium. 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 "selenium", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

seashore#32,172Sandoval#32,167Rohingya#32,163slimming#32,185

Similar misspelling depth

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

Skelton11 variantsslasher11 variantssoulmate11 variantsstifled11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list