sequela
/sɪˈkwiːlə/
"sequela" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“sequela” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Chiefly in the plural: a condition or disease which follows chronologically after an earlier one, being either partly or wholly caused by it, or made possible by it.
Corpus desk
Index EN-sequela · sequela · English
sequela · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-4 4 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | sequela |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /sɪˈkwiːlə/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “sequela” in English
Rare enough to double-check
sequela is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /sɪˈkwiːlə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for sequela in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. 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: Learned borrowing from Latin sequēla (“aftermath, sequel; consequence, result”), from sequor (“to follow; to come or go after, pursue”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to follow”)) + -ēla (suffix forming abstract nouns from verbs). Doublet of … The correct English form is sequela, spelled S-E-Q-U-E-L-A.
Definition
- 1Chiefly in the plural: a condition or disease which follows chronologically after an earlier one, being either partly or wholly caused by it, or made possible by it.
- 2That which follows; a consequence, an effect.
- 3People who adhere to the opinions or teachings of another; followers.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how sequela appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Complications: haematoma formation is a dangerous sequela of this operation, and careful drainage with polythene tubing was carried out.
‘Ay, ay,’ said Stephen testily, ‘it is showy enough to look at, no doubt, but these are only the superficial sequelae. There is no essential lesion.’
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin sequēla (“aftermath, sequel; consequence, result”), from sequor (“to follow; to come or go after, pursue”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to follow”)) + -ēla (suffix forming abstract nouns from verbs). Doublet of sequel. The plural form is a learned borrowing from Latin sequēlae.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.