Sherwood

/ˈʃɝwʊd/

//ˈʃɝwʊd// name

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

Detailed reference entry for the English word "sherwood", 8-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Wiktionary, and usage frequency ranked against an open word-frequency list covering the top 100,000 English words. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "sherwood" 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 "sherwood" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

The verdict

“Sherwood” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #15,699 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.

#15,699
frequency rank, English
8
letters
12
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) — An English habitational surname from Old English derived from Sherwood Forest.

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Key facts for Sherwood
PropertyValue
HeadwordSherwood
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈʃɝwʊd/
Letters8
Frequency rank#15,699
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Sherwood” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). Sherwood lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for Sherwood is 8 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈʃɝwʊd/. Corpus data places it at rank #15,699 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 30 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for Sherwood, with forms such as "hserwood", "sehrwood", and "sherowod". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old English scīr + wudu (“forest”). The first element is either the ancestor of the modern noun shire, or an adjective meaning "bright" (ancestor to the modern word sheer), depending on the specific placename (listed below). 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 Sherwood, spelled S-H-E-R-W-O-O-D, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    An English habitational surname from Old English derived from Sherwood Forest.
  2. 2
    A northern suburb of Preston, Lancashire, England (OS grid ref SD5432)
  3. 3
    A northern suburb of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England (OS grid ref SK5643).
  4. 4
    A suburb of Bonnyrigg, Midlothian council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NT3164)
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Etymology

From Old English scīr + wudu (“forest”). The first element is either the ancestor of the modern noun shire, or an adjective meaning "bright" (ancestor to the modern word sheer), depending on the specific placename (listed below).

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: hserwood,sehrwood,sherowod,sherrwood,sherwod,sherwodo,sherwoodd,sherwwood,shewrood,shherwood,shrewood,ssherwood

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

Edit distance from "Sherwood"

hserwood2sehrwood2sherowod2sherrwood1sherwod1sherwodo2sherwoodd1sherwwood1
Edit distance from "Sherwood"

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.

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY-SA). Copy the citation:

PlainSpell, “Sherwood, English word data” (May 6, 2026). Derived from Wiktionary (kaikki.org, CC BY-SA) and an open word-frequency list. https://plainspell.com/en/word/sherwood

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Sherwood"?
"Sherwood" is spelled S-H-E-R-W-O-O-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʃɝwʊd/.
What does "Sherwood" mean?
As a proper noun, "Sherwood" means: An English habitational surname from Old English derived from Sherwood Forest.
What are common misspellings of "Sherwood"?
Common misspellings include "hserwood", "sehrwood", "sherowod", "sherrwood", "sherwod". The correct spelling is "Sherwood".
How do you pronounce "Sherwood"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Sherwood" is /ˈʃɝwʊd/. 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 "Sherwood"?
From Old English scīr + wudu (“forest”). The first element is either the ancestor of the modern noun shire, or an adjective meaning "bright" (ancestor to the modern word sheer), depending on the specific placename (listed below). 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.

Using “Sherwood”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-H-E-R-W-O-O-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈʃɝwʊd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Nearby English words

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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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list