smallness

noun

"smallness" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“smallness” is uncommon English (frequency #77,210 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#77,210
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The state or quality of being small.

Corpus desk

Index EN-smallness · smallness · English

smallness · rank #77,210 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #77,210
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH slobbering

Nearest frequency peer: slobbering (-2 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 “smallness”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “smallness” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for smallness
PropertyValue
Headwordsmallness
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Frequency rank#77,210
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “smallness” in English

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “slobbering” (#77,208), “sleuths” (#77,207), “sleepwalker” (#77,206). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “smallness” is #77,210. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

smallness is uncommon English at frequency #77,210 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for smallness in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English smalnesse; equivalent to small + -ness. The correct English form is smallness, spelled S-M-A-L-L-N-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The state or quality of being small.
  2. 2
    The result or product of being small.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how smallness appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. His smallness didn't bother him, except when he needed something off the top shelf.
  2. The exiguity and ſmallneſſe of ſome ſeeds extending to large productions is one of the magnalities of nature, ſomewhat illuſtrating the work of the Creation, and vaſt production from nothing.

Etymology

From Middle English smalnesse; equivalent to small + -ness.

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 "smallness"?
"smallness" is spelled S-M-A-L-L-N-E-S-S.
What does "smallness" mean?
As a noun, "smallness" means: The state or quality of being small.
What is the origin of the word "smallness"?
From Middle English smalnesse; equivalent to small + -ness. 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "smallness", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list