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shane

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

5 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "shane", 5-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "shane" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "shane" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

Shane is aEnglishname. It means: A male given name from Irish. Pronounced /ʃeɪn/. It ranks #7,741 in English word frequency. Often confused with she and shoe.

Key facts for Shane
PropertyValue
HeadwordShane
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechName
IPA/ʃeɪn/
Letters5
Frequency rank#7,741
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of Shane in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for Shane is 5 letters long, classified as aname, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ʃeɪn/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,741 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 7 documented wrong-spelling variants for Shane, with forms such as "hsane", "sahne", and "shaen". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "she", "shoe", "shaw", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Anglicized form of the Northern Irish pronunciation of Irish Seán, from Old French Jehan, from Latin Johannes, variant of Ioannes, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (Yōḥānān, literally “God is gracious”). Doublet of John, Jack, Johan,… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is Shane, spelled S-H-A-N-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A male given name from Irish.
  2. 2
    A female given name from Irish.
  3. 3
    A surname from Irish [in turn originating as a patronymic].

Etymology

Anglicized form of the Northern Irish pronunciation of Irish Seán, from Old French Jehan, from Latin Johannes, variant of Ioannes, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (Yōḥānān, literally “God is gracious”). Doublet of John, Jack, Johan, Johann, Johannes, Jean, Ian, Evan, Ivan, Sean, Shaun, and Giovanni as a male name. Doublet of Ivana, Jana, Jane, Janice, Janis, Jean, Jeanne, Jen, Joan, Joanna, Joanne, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Sian, Siobhan, Shaun, Shauna, and Sheena as a female name.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: hsane,sahne,shaen,shanne,shhane,shnae,sshane

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for Shane

Misspelling Variants of "Shane"

hsane5sahne5shaen5shanne6shhane6shnae5sshane6
Misspelling Variants of "Shane"

Frequency rank: #7,741 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Shane"?
"Shane" is spelled S-H-A-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ʃeɪn/.
What does "Shane" mean?
As a name, "Shane" means: A male given name from Irish.
What words are commonly confused with "Shane"?
"Shane" is commonly confused with "she", "shoe", "shaw". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Shane"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Shane" is /ʃeɪn/. 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 "Shane"?
Anglicized form of the Northern Irish pronunciation of Irish Seán, from Old French Jehan, from Latin Johannes, variant of Ioannes, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (Yōḥānān, literally “God is gracious”). Doublet of John, Ja... 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter S in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.