sesame

/ˈsɛsəmi/

//ˈsɛsəmi// noun

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

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

The verdict

“sesame” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,903. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,903
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A tropical Asian plant (Sesamum indicum) bearing small flat seeds used as food and as a source of oil.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sesame · sesame · English

sesame · rank #15,903 · 8 variants · 8 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,903
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH serpent

Nearest frequency peer: serpent (-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 “sesame”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “sesame” 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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

sesame vs shame
67% similar
sesame vs sewage
67% similar
sesame vs same
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for sesame
PropertyValue
Headwordsesame
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsɛsəmi/
Letters6
Frequency rank#15,903
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sesame”

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).sesamelands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “serpent” (#15,902), “shi” (#15,905), “Rubio” (#15,900). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sesame” is #15,903. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around sesame (IPA /ˈsɛsəmi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #15,903 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for sesame, with forms such as "essame", "seasme", and "sesaem". 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, "shame", "sewage", "same", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From late Middle English sisamie, from Latin sīsamum, sēsamum, from Ancient Greek σήσαμον (sḗsamon), from Aramaic שושמא (šūššmā), shortening of שומשומא (šumššumā), from Akkadian 𒊭𒈦𒌑𒈬 (šamaššammū, “oil plant”), compound of 𒉌𒄑 (šaman, “oil”) and 𒌑 (šam… The correct English form is sesame, spelled S-E-S-A-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A tropical Asian plant (Sesamum indicum) bearing small flat seeds used as food and as a source of oil.
  2. 2
    The seed of this plant.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. First, marinate the tofu. In a bowl, whisk the kecap manis, chilli sauce, and sesame oil together. Cut the tofu into strips about 1cm thick, mix gently (so it doesn't break) with the marinade and leave in the fridge for half an hour.

Etymology

From late Middle English sisamie, from Latin sīsamum, sēsamum, from Ancient Greek σήσαμον (sḗsamon), from Aramaic שושמא (šūššmā), shortening of שומשומא (šumššumā), from Akkadian 𒊭𒈦𒌑𒈬 (šamaššammū, “oil plant”), compound of 𒉌𒄑 (šaman, “oil”) and 𒌑 (šammum, “plant”). The modern pronunciation is perhaps influenced by (transliterations of) Greek σησάμη (sisámi). Doublet of sesamum.

This word in other languages

sésamo(Español)sésame(Français)Sesam(Deutsch)sésamo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • essame
  • seasme
  • sesaem
  • sesamme
  • sesmae
  • sessame
  • sseame
  • ssesame

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

essame2seasme2sesaem2sesamme1sesmae2sessame1sseame2ssesame1
Edit distance from "sesame"

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 "sesame"?
"sesame" is spelled S-E-S-A-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɛsəmi/.
What does "sesame" mean?
As a noun, "sesame" means: A tropical Asian plant (Sesamum indicum) bearing small flat seeds used as food and as a source of oil.
What words are commonly confused with "sesame"?
"sesame" is commonly confused with "shame", "sewage", "same". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sesame"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sesame" is /ˈsɛsəmi/. 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 "sesame"?
From late Middle English sisamie, from Latin sīsamum, sēsamum, from Ancient Greek σήσαμον (sḗsamon), from Aramaic שושמא (šūššmā), shortening of שומשומא (šumššumā), from Akkadian 𒊭𒈦𒌑𒈬 (šamaššammū, “oil plant”), compound of 𒉌𒄑 (šaman, “oil”) a... 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 "sesame", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

shoved#15,906Sicily#15,907slater#15,910relics#15,895

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Rihanna8 variantssnowy8 variantsprivy8 variantsstalk8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list