septuagenarian

/ˌsɛptəd͡ʒɪˈnɛɹiən/

//ˌsɛptəd͡ʒɪˈnɛɹiən// noun

"septuagenarian" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“septuagenarian” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
14
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Synonym of seventysomething: a person between 70 and 79 years old.

Corpus desk

Index EN-septuagenarian · septuagenarian · English

septuagenarian · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 14 letters
  • VOW-7 7 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for septuagenarian
PropertyValue
Headwordseptuagenarian
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌsɛptəd͡ʒɪˈnɛɹiən/
Letters14
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “septuagenarian” in English

septuagenarianranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

septuagenarian is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌsɛptəd͡ʒɪˈnɛɹiən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Synonym of seventysomething: a person between 70 and 79 years old.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for septuagenarian, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin septuagenarius (“containing 70”) + -an (suffix forming adjectives and representative nouns), either directly or via French septuagénaire, from Latin septuagenus (“70 each”) + -arius (“-ary”), from Latin septuāginta (“seven tens, 70”). The correct English form is septuagenarian, spelled S-E-P-T-U-A-G-E-N-A-R-I-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Synonym of seventysomething: a person between 70 and 79 years old.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Mary Moon, she's a vegetarian. Mary Moon, Mary Moon, Mary Moon. Mary Moon, who will outlive all the septuagenarians.
  2. For a ley hunter, local people – particularly the elderly – can be mines of information. Devereux and Thomson recount how they asked a septuagenarian in a remote village the location of an elusive stone, without mentioning the subject of leys: […]

Etymology

From Latin septuagenarius (“containing 70”) + -an (suffix forming adjectives and representative nouns), either directly or via French septuagénaire, from Latin septuagenus (“70 each”) + -arius (“-ary”), from Latin septuāginta (“seven tens, 70”).

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "septuagenarian"?
"septuagenarian" is spelled S-E-P-T-U-A-G-E-N-A-R-I-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌsɛptəd͡ʒɪˈnɛɹiən/.
What does "septuagenarian" mean?
As a noun, "septuagenarian" means: Synonym of seventysomething: a person between 70 and 79 years old.
How do you pronounce "septuagenarian"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "septuagenarian" is /ˌsɛptəd͡ʒɪˈnɛɹiən/. 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 "septuagenarian"?
From Latin septuagenarius (“containing 70”) + -an (suffix forming adjectives and representative nouns), either directly or via French septuagénaire, from Latin septuagenus (“70 each”) + -arius (“-ary”), from Latin septuāginta (“seven tens, 70”). 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list