sycophant
/ˈsɪkəfænt/
"sycophant" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“sycophant” is uncommon English (frequency #75,466 among 54,294 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #75,466
- frequency rank, English
- 54,294
- “S” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - One who uses obsequious compliments to gain self-serving favour or advantage from another; a servile flatterer.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | sycophant |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsɪkəfænt/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #75,466 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “sycophant” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
sycophant is uncommon English at frequency #75,466 among 54,294 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsɪkəfænt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for sycophant in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in 1537. From Latin sȳcophanta (“informer, trickster”), from Ancient Greek συκοφάντης (sukophántēs), itself from σῦκον (sûkon, “fig”) + φαίνω (phaínō, “I show, demonstrate”). The gesture of "showing the fig" was a vulgar one, which was made b… The correct English form is sycophant, spelled S-Y-C-O-P-H-A-N-T.
Definition
- 1One who uses obsequious compliments to gain self-serving favour or advantage from another; a servile flatterer.
- 2One who seeks to gain through the powerful and influential.
- 3An informer; a talebearer.
Etymology
First attested in 1537. From Latin sȳcophanta (“informer, trickster”), from Ancient Greek συκοφάντης (sukophántēs), itself from σῦκον (sûkon, “fig”) + φαίνω (phaínō, “I show, demonstrate”). The gesture of "showing the fig" was a vulgar one, which was made by sticking the thumb between two fingers, a display which vaguely resembles a fig, which is itself symbolic of a σῦκον (sûkon), which also meant vulva. The story behind this etymology is that politicians in ancient Greece steered clear of displaying that vulgar gesture, but secretly urged their followers to taunt their opponents by using it. Cognate with Italian sicofante, Spanish sicofanta.
Synonyms
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 "sycophant"?
What does "sycophant" mean?
How do you pronounce "sycophant"?
What is the origin of the word "sycophant"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “sycophant”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-Y-C-O-P-H-A-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsɪkəfænt/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.