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sundry

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

6 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "sundry", 6-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "sundry" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "sundry" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

sundry is anEnglishadj. It means: More than one or two but not very many; a number of, several. Pronounced /ˈsʌnd.ɹi/. Often confused with SUNY and sunny.

Key facts for sundry
PropertyValue
Headwordsundry
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdj
IPA/ˈsʌnd.ɹi/
Letters6
Frequency rank#39,123
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs12
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of sundry in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for sundry is 6 letters long, classified as anadj, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsʌnd.ɹi/. Corpus data places it at rank #39,123 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 10 documented wrong-spelling variants for sundry, with forms such as "snudry", "ssundry", and "sudnry". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "SUNY", "sunny", "surry", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: The adjective is derived from Middle English sondri, sondry, syndry (“individually; occasionally; separately; variously”) [and other forms], from Old English syndriġ (“alone, distinct, separate, single; sundry, various; concerning a single person, own, part… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is sundry, spelled S-U-N-D-R-Y, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    More than one or two but not very many; a number of, several.
  2. 2
    Of various types, especially when numerous; diverse, varied.
  3. 3
    Consisting of an assortment of different kinds; miscellaneous.
  4. 4
    Chiefly preceded by a number or an adjective like many: of two or more similar people or things: not the same as other persons or things of the same nature; different, distinct, separate. (Contrast sense 5.2.)
  5. 5
    Relating to a single person or thing as opposed to more than one; individual, respective.
  6. 6
    Of a person or thing: not the same as something else; different. (Contrast sense 4.)
  7. 7
    Not attached or connected to anything else; physically separate.

Etymology

The adjective is derived from Middle English sondri, sondry, syndry (“individually; occasionally; separately; variously”) [and other forms], from Old English syndriġ (“alone, distinct, separate, single; sundry, various; concerning a single person, own, particular, peculiar, private; exceptional, remarkable, set apart, special; (distributive) one each”) [and other forms], from sundor (“differently; privately; separate, separately”) (from Proto-Germanic *sundraz (“alone, isolated; separate”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *senH- (“apart; for oneself; without”)) + -iġ (“suffix forming adjectives”). The English word is analysable as sunder + -y. The noun and pronoun are derived from the adjective. Cognates * Dutch zonderlijk (“separate”) (rare), Dutch afzonderlijk (“separate”) * Low German sunderig (“single; special”) * Middle High German sunderig (“private; separate; special”) * Swedish söndrig (“broken; tattered”)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: snudry,ssundry,sudnry,sunddry,sundrry,sundryy,sundyr,sunndry,sunrdy,usndry

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for sundry

Misspelling Variants of "sundry"

snudry6ssundry7sudnry6sunddry7sundrry7sundryy7sundyr6sunndry7
Misspelling Variants of "sundry"

Frequency rank: #39,123 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sundry"?
"sundry" is spelled S-U-N-D-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsʌnd.ɹi/.
What does "sundry" mean?
As an adj, "sundry" means: More than one or two but not very many; a number of, several.
What words are commonly confused with "sundry"?
"sundry" is commonly confused with "SUNY", "sunny", "surry". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sundry"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sundry" is /ˈsʌnd.ɹi/. 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 "sundry"?
The adjective is derived from Middle English sondri, sondry, syndry (“individually; occasionally; separately; variously”) [and other forms], from Old English syndriġ (“alone, distinct, separate, single; sundry, various; concerning a single person,... 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter S in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.