stella

/ˈstɛl.ə/

//ˈstɛl.ə// noun

"stella" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“stella” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,299. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,299
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A star-shaped structure.

Corpus desk

Index EN-stella · stella · English

stella · rank #11,299 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,299
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH stain

Nearest frequency peer: stain (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “stella”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “stella” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

stella vs still
67% similar
stella vs swell
67% similar
stella vs Stoll
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for stella
PropertyValue
Headwordstella
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈstɛl.ə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#11,299
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “stella”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).stellalands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “stain” (#11,298), “stimulation” (#11,300), “spies” (#11,297). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “stella” is #11,299. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around stella (IPA /ˈstɛl.ə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #11,299 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for stella, with forms such as "setlla", "sstella", and "stelal". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "still", "swell", "Stoll", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin stēlla (“a star”). Doublet of estoile, étoile, and stelo; related to aster and star. The correct English form is stella, spelled S-T-E-L-L-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A star-shaped structure.
  2. 2
    Alternative letter-case form of Stella.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Plants of this collection are several decimeters taller; the pedicels are more remote in the inforescence; the stellae are larger and form a less dense cover on plant parts, and the siliques are slightly larger than in the usual form of the species.
  2. Stems and young branches terete, viscid, densely ferruginous-tomentose with sessile to short-stalked pauciradiate stellae bearing greatly prolonged 4-6-celled midpoints, these 0.1-0.2 cm long, gland-tipped, strongly armed with ferruginous laterally compressed prickles, these broad-based and sparsely glandular in the basal quarter.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin stēlla (“a star”). Doublet of estoile, étoile, and stelo; related to aster and star.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • setlla
  • sstella
  • stelal
  • stlela
  • sttella
  • tsella

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of stella - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

setlla2sstella1stelal2stlela2sttella1tsella2
Edit distance from "stella"

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 "stella"?
"stella" is spelled S-T-E-L-L-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈstɛl.ə/.
What does "stella" mean?
As a noun, "stella" means: A star-shaped structure.
What words are commonly confused with "stella"?
"stella" is commonly confused with "still", "swell", "Stoll". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "stella"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stella" is /ˈstɛl.ə/. 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 "stella"?
Borrowed from Latin stēlla (“a star”). Doublet of estoile, étoile, and stelo; related to aster and star. 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 "stella", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list