shepherdess
"shepherdess" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“shepherdess” is uncommon English (frequency #75,406 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #75,406
- frequency rank, English
- 6,566
- “S” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A female shepherd.
Corpus desk
Index EN-shepherdess · shepherdess · English
shepherdess · rank #75,406 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #75,406
- LEN-MEGA 11 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 6,566
- PHOTO-FINISH Shawcross
Nearest frequency peer: Shawcross (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “shepherdess”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- shan't
shan't
24,597 corpus weight
- Shawcross
Shawcross
24,596 corpus weight
- shepherdess
shepherdess
24,595 corpus weight
- shovelling
shovelling
24,593 corpus weight
- sidenote
sidenote
24,591 corpus weight
- Siebert
Siebert
24,590 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “shepherdess” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | shepherdess |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #75,406 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “shepherdess” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
shepherdess is uncommon English at frequency #75,406 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
shepherdess has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English scheperdesse, shepperdesse; equivalent to shepherd + -ess. The correct English form is shepherdess, spelled S-H-E-P-H-E-R-D-E-S-S.
Definition
- 1A female shepherd.
- 2A large and deep armchair with a cushion.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how shepherdess appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
I thought it a crime to refuse nature the maintenance of a life much more grievous than death. I changed my* dress for the simple habit of a shepherdess, and embraced this state as my only refuge; since that time all my consolation has been to weep over this grave, which shall be my own.
A Faithful Shepherdess
Etymology
From Middle English scheperdesse, shepperdesse; equivalent to shepherd + -ess.
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); 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 "shepherdess"?
What does "shepherdess" mean?
What is the origin of the word "shepherdess"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "shepherdess", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
What to do next
You've looked up "shepherdess". Here's where to go from here.
- Usage frequency rank #75,406 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.