stela
/ˈstiːlə/
"stela" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“stela” is uncommon English (frequency #83,778 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #83,778
- frequency rank, English
- 6,566
- “S” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - an obelisk or upright stone pillar, usually as a primitive commemoration or gravestone
Corpus desk
Index EN-stela · stela · English
stela · rank #83,778 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #83,778
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 6,566
- PHOTO-FINISH stagecraft
Nearest frequency peer: stagecraft (-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 “stela”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- splashdown
splashdown
16,226 corpus weight
- spluttering
spluttering
16,225 corpus weight
- stagecraft
stagecraft
16,224 corpus weight
- stela
stela
16,223 corpus weight
- Stickney
Stickney
16,220 corpus weight
- stonewalled
stonewalled
16,218 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “stela” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | stela |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈstiːlə/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #83,778 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “stela” in English
Rare enough to double-check
stela is uncommon English at frequency #83,778 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈstiːlə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "an obelisk or upright stone pillar, usually as a primitive commemoration or gravestone".
Zero misspellings are on record for stela in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin stēla, from Ancient Greek στήλη (stḗlē). Doublet of stele. The correct English form is stela, spelled S-T-E-L-A.
Definition
- 1an obelisk or upright stone pillar, usually as a primitive commemoration or gravestone
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how stela appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
In the courts of the houses lie many round stelæ, or pillars, once placed on the graves of the Athenians.
He erected a stela, with an inscription in the sacred character, to commemorate his successes.
Etymology
From Latin stēla, from Ancient Greek στήλη (stḗlē). Doublet of stele.
Synonyms
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 "stela", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).