spic
/ˈspɪk/
"spic" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“spic” is uncommon English (frequency #80,902 among 54,294 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #80,902
- frequency rank, English
- 54,294
- “S” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Synonym of Latino, an inhabitant of Latin America or person of Latin American descent.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | spic |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈspɪk/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #80,902 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “spic” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
spic is uncommon English at frequency #80,902 among 54,294 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈspɪk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for spic in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in this spelling in the 1910s, from earlier spig, spiggoty, spikity, generally taken to derive from a (stereotype of a) Hispanic pronunciation of "(no) speak d(e) English" (especially as used by the laborers who dug the Panama Canal). There a… The correct English form is spic, spelled S-P-I-C.
Definition
- 1Synonym of Latino, an inhabitant of Latin America or person of Latin American descent.
- 2Synonym of Italian, an inhabitant of Italy or person of Italian descent.
Etymology
First attested in this spelling in the 1910s, from earlier spig, spiggoty, spikity, generally taken to derive from a (stereotype of a) Hispanic pronunciation of "(no) speak d(e) English" (especially as used by the laborers who dug the Panama Canal). There are also later (1960s) suggestions that the term referred instead to Italians and derives from spaghetti, but there is little to back this up.
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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Using “spic”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-P-I-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈspɪk/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.