swathe

/sweɪð/

//sweɪð// noun

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

The verdict

“swathe” is uncommon English (frequency #67,872 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#67,872
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A bandage; a band.

Corpus desk

Index EN-swathe · swathe · English

swathe · rank #67,872 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #67,872
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Susa

Nearest frequency peer: Susa (-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 “swathe”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for swathe
PropertyValue
Headwordswathe
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/sweɪð/
Letters6
Frequency rank#67,872
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “swathe” 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).swathefalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Susa” (#67,871), “superfan” (#67,870), “synchronisation” (#67,874). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “swathe” is #67,872. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

swathe is uncommon English at frequency #67,872 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /sweɪð/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A bandage; a band.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for swathe, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English swathe, swath, from Old English swaþu, swæþ (“bandage”), probably akin to Old English swaþul, sweþel (“a swathe, wrap, band, bandage”). The correct English form is swathe, spelled S-W-A-T-H-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A bandage; a band.

Etymology

From Middle English swathe, swath, from Old English swaþu, swæþ (“bandage”), probably akin to Old English swaþul, sweþel (“a swathe, wrap, band, bandage”).

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

How do you spell "swathe"?
"swathe" is spelled S-W-A-T-H-E. The IPA pronunciation is /sweɪð/.
What does "swathe" mean?
As a noun, "swathe" means: A bandage; a band.
How do you pronounce "swathe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "swathe" is /sweɪð/. 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 "swathe"?
From Middle English swathe, swath, from Old English swaþu, swæþ (“bandage”), probably akin to Old English swaþul, sweþel (“a swathe, wrap, band, bandage”). 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 "swathe", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list