spic

/ˈspɪk/

//ˈspɪk// noun

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

"spic" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“spic” is uncommon English (frequency #80,902 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#80,902
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Synonym of Latino, an inhabitant of Latin America or person of Latin American descent.

Corpus desk

Index EN-spic · spic · English

spic · rank #80,902 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #80,902
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Somerton

Nearest frequency peer: Somerton (-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 “spic”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for spic
PropertyValue
Headwordspic
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈspɪk/
Letters4
Frequency rank#80,902
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “spic” 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).spicfalls 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: “Somerton” (#80,901), “softwares” (#80,900), “spondylitis” (#80,904). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “spic” is #80,902. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

spic is uncommon English at frequency #80,902 among 6,566 “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

  1. 1
    Synonym of Latino, an inhabitant of Latin America or person of Latin American descent.
  2. 2
    Synonym of Italian, an inhabitant of Italy or person of Italian descent.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. “He’s a spic” he said. He was frantic with jealousy, he didn’t want to be hurt again.

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

How do you spell "spic"?
"spic" is spelled S-P-I-C. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈspɪk/.
What does "spic" mean?
As a noun, "spic" means: Synonym of Latino, an inhabitant of Latin America or person of Latin American descent.
How do you pronounce "spic"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "spic" is /ˈspɪk/. 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 "spic"?
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... 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 "spic", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

sain#80,840Todt#80,966rubi#80,831razz#80,794

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list