simian
/ˈsɪm.i.ən/
"simian" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“simian” is uncommon English (frequency #51,393 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #51,393
- frequency rank, English
- 6,566
- “S” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of or pertaining to apes and monkeys.
Corpus desk
Index EN-simian · simian · English
simian · rank #51,393 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #51,393
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 6,566
- PHOTO-FINISH Sigurd
Nearest frequency peer: Sigurd (-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.
Long-tail ranks near “simian”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- Sherif
Sherif
48,613 corpus weight
- shorn
shorn
48,612 corpus weight
- sideburns
sideburns
48,610 corpus weight
- Sigurd
Sigurd
48,609 corpus weight
- simian
simian
48,608 corpus weight
- Simran
Simran
48,607 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “simian” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | simian |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈsɪm.i.ən/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #51,393 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “simian” in English
Rare enough to double-check
simian is uncommon English at frequency #51,393 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈsɪm.i.ən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for simian, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin sīmia (“ape, monkey”), from Ancient Greek σιμός (simós, “snub-nosed”). The correct English form is simian, spelled S-I-M-I-A-N.
Definition
- 1Of or pertaining to apes and monkeys.
- 2Bearing resemblance to an ape or monkey; apelike or monkeylike.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how simian appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
In “Benguelê” (which refers to slaves’ nostalgic longing for Africa) he makes extensive use of crouching, stooped bodies in a simian, loping walk, arms hanging loosely and head down to suggest tribal dances, rituals, animals, a precivilization.
Etymology
From Latin sīmia (“ape, monkey”), from Ancient Greek σιμός (simós, “snub-nosed”).
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "simian", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).