supine
/ˈs(j)uːpaɪn/
"supine" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“supine” is an uncommon English word, ranked #58,396 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #58,396
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Lying on its back.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | supine |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈs(j)uːpaɪn/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #58,396 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “supine” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for supine is 6 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈs(j)uːpaɪn/. Corpus data places it at rank #58,396 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No misspelling variants are generated for supine in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. 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: The adjective is borrowed from Latin supīnus, from *sup- (see sub (“under”)) + -īnus (“of, pertaining to”). The word is cognate with Catalan supí, Italian supino, Old French sovin, Middle French souvin, Anglo-Norman supin, Old Occitan sobin, sopin, Portugue… The correct English form is supine, spelled S-U-P-I-N-E.
Definition
- 1Lying on its back.
- 2Turned facing toward the body or upward: with the thumb outward (palm up), or with the big toe raised relative to the little toe.
- 3Reluctant to take action due to indifference or moral weakness; apathetic or passive towards something.
- 4Inclining or leaning backward; inclined, sloping.
Etymology
The adjective is borrowed from Latin supīnus, from *sup- (see sub (“under”)) + -īnus (“of, pertaining to”). The word is cognate with Catalan supí, Italian supino, Old French sovin, Middle French souvin, Anglo-Norman supin, Old Occitan sobin, sopin, Portuguese supino, Spanish supino. Partly displaced Old English upweard (“upward, supine”), whence Modern English upward. The noun is from Late Middle English supin (“supine of a Latin verb”) or Middle French supin (“(grammar) supine”), from Latin supīnum, (ellipsis of supīnum verbum (“supine verb”)), from supīnus; further etymology above.
This word in other languages
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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Using “supine”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-U-P-I-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈs(j)uːpaɪn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.