sumac

/ˈs(j)uːmæk/

//ˈs(j)uːmæk// noun

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

"sumac" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sumac” is uncommon English (frequency #64,042 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#64,042
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of various shrubs or small trees of the genus Rhus and certain other genera in Anacardiaceae.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sumac · sumac · English

sumac · rank #64,042 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #64,042
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH subzero

Nearest frequency peer: subzero (-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 “sumac”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for sumac
PropertyValue
Headwordsumac
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈs(j)uːmæk/
Letters5
Frequency rank#64,042
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “sumac” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).sumacfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “subzero” (#64,041), “sux” (#64,043), “syllabic” (#64,044). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sumac” is #64,042. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sumac is uncommon English at frequency #64,042 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈs(j)uːmæk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for sumac in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is derived from Middle English sumac, asimac, simak, sumak, symak (“portions of the shrub Rhus coriaria, chiefly used for medicinal purposes”), from Anglo-Norman sumak, symak, and Old French sumac, or directly from its etymon Medieval Latin sumach,… The correct English form is sumac, spelled S-U-M-A-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of various shrubs or small trees of the genus Rhus and certain other genera in Anacardiaceae.
  2. 2
    Any of various shrubs or small trees of the genus Rhus and certain other genera in Anacardiaceae.
  3. 3
    Dried and chopped-up leaves and stems of a plant of the genus Rhus, particularly tanner's sumac (see sense 1), used for dyeing and tanning leather or for medicinal purposes.
  4. 4
    A sour spice popular in the Eastern Mediterranean, made from the berries of tanner's sumac.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The Rhamnus of Maderaspatan, and the Trifoliate Sumachs from the Coaſt of Africa, are altogether new.
  2. Shumack, Chapacour, and the famous Snake-root, ſo much admir'd in England for being a Cordial, and an Antidote in all Peſtilential Diſeases.

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English sumac, asimac, simak, sumak, symak (“portions of the shrub Rhus coriaria, chiefly used for medicinal purposes”), from Anglo-Norman sumak, symak, and Old French sumac, or directly from its etymon Medieval Latin sumach, sumac, from Arabic سُمَّاق (summāq), from Classical Syriac ܣܘܡܩܐ (summāqā, “red; sumac”). The English word is cognate with Italian sommaco, sommacco, Occitan simac, Portuguese sumagre, Spanish zumaque. The verb is derived from the noun.

This word in other languages

zumaque(Español)sumac(Français)Sumach(Deutsch)

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 "sumac"?
"sumac" is spelled S-U-M-A-C. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈs(j)uːmæk/.
What does "sumac" mean?
As a noun, "sumac" means: Any of various shrubs or small trees of the genus Rhus and certain other genera in Anacardiaceae.
How do you pronounce "sumac"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sumac" is /ˈs(j)uːmæk/. 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 "sumac"?
The noun is derived from Middle English sumac, asimac, simak, sumak, symak (“portions of the shrub Rhus coriaria, chiefly used for medicinal purposes”), from Anglo-Norman sumak, symak, and Old French sumac, or directly from its etymon Medieval Lat... 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 "sumac", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Szabo#64,046stele#64,034telex#64,057Tisch#64,065

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list