silkmoth

noun

"silkmoth" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“silkmoth” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any moth whose caterpillar stage is a silkworm, especially Bombyx mori, the domestic silkmoth, but also others in the families Bombycidae and Saturniidae (as well as the Siberian silkmoth in the fa...

Corpus desk

Index EN-silkmoth · silkmoth · English

silkmoth · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for silkmoth
PropertyValue
Headwordsilkmoth
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “silkmoth” sits in English frequency

silkmoth falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

silkmoth is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Any moth whose caterpillar stage is a silkworm, especially Bombyx mori, the domestic silkmoth, but also others in the families Bombycidae and Saturniidae (as well as the Siberian silkmoth in the fa...".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for silkmoth, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From silk + moth. The correct English form is silkmoth, spelled S-I-L-K-M-O-T-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any moth whose caterpillar stage is a silkworm, especially Bombyx mori, the domestic silkmoth, but also others in the families Bombycidae and Saturniidae (as well as the Siberian silkmoth in the family Lasiocampidae).

Etymology

From silk + moth.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "silkmoth"?
"silkmoth" is spelled S-I-L-K-M-O-T-H.
What does "silkmoth" mean?
As a noun, "silkmoth" means: Any moth whose caterpillar stage is a silkworm, especially Bombyx mori, the domestic silkmoth, but also others in the families Bombycidae and Saturniidae (as well as the Siberian silkmoth in the fa...
What is the origin of the word "silkmoth"?
From silk + moth. 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.
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