seraph

/ˈsɛɹəf/

//ˈsɛɹəf// noun

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

"seraph" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“seraph” is uncommon English (frequency #59,007 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#59,007
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A burning serpent, often winged, with human hands and sometimes feet; one of God's entourage. On Earth, they strike with burning poison; in Heaven, with burning coal. A description can be found at ...

Corpus desk

Index EN-seraph · seraph · English

seraph · rank #59,007 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #59,007
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH serf

Nearest frequency peer: serf (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “seraph”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “seraph” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for seraph
PropertyValue
Headwordseraph
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsɛɹəf/
Letters6
Frequency rank#59,007
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “seraph” in English

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).seraphfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “serf” (#59,008), “Seddon” (#59,005), “secreting” (#59,004). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “seraph” is #59,007. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

seraph is uncommon English at frequency #59,007 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsɛɹəf/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for seraph in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. 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: Back-formation of singular from plural seraphim, from Latin seraphim, from Biblical Hebrew שְׂרָפִים (sərāp̄īm), plural form of שָׂרָף (sārāp̄). The plural "seraphims" occurs in the King James Bible (Isaiah chapter 6). According to the Oxford English Dictio… The correct English form is seraph, spelled S-E-R-A-P-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    A burning serpent, often winged, with human hands and sometimes feet; one of God's entourage. On Earth, they strike with burning poison; in Heaven, with burning coal. A description can be found at the beginning of Isaiah chapter 6.
  2. 2
    A six-winged angel; one of the highest choir or order of angels in Christian angelology, ranked above cherubim, and below God.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. From these uncordial reveries he is roused by a cordial slap on the shoulder, accompanied by a spicy volume of tobacco-smoke, out of which came a voice, sweet as a seraph's

Etymology

Back-formation of singular from plural seraphim, from Latin seraphim, from Biblical Hebrew שְׂרָפִים (sərāp̄īm), plural form of שָׂרָף (sārāp̄). The plural "seraphims" occurs in the King James Bible (Isaiah chapter 6). According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the singular "seraph" may have originated with John Milton, who used it in Book I of Paradise Lost (1667).

Synonyms

uraeus

This word in other languages

serafín(Español)séraphin(Français)Seraph(Deutsch)serafim(Português)

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 "seraph"?
"seraph" is spelled S-E-R-A-P-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɛɹəf/.
What does "seraph" mean?
As a noun, "seraph" means: A burning serpent, often winged, with human hands and sometimes feet; one of God's entourage. On Earth, they strike with burning poison; in Heaven, with burning coal. A description can be found at ...
How do you pronounce "seraph"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "seraph" is /ˈsɛɹəf/. 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 "seraph"?
Back-formation of singular from plural seraphim, from Latin seraphim, from Biblical Hebrew שְׂרָפִים (sərāp̄īm), plural form of שָׂרָף (sārāp̄). The plural "seraphims" occurs in the King James Bible (Isaiah chapter 6). According to the Oxford Engl... 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 "seraph", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Seddon#59,005shisha#59,012shruti#59,016simile#59,018

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list