syllabus

/ˈsɪləbəs/

//ˈsɪləbəs// noun

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

"syllabus" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“syllabus” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,710. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,710
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A summary of topics which will be covered during an academic course, or a text or lecture.

Corpus desk

Index EN-syllabus · syllabus · English

syllabus · rank #18,710 · 11 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,710
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sweeps

Nearest frequency peer: sweeps (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “syllabus”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “syllabus” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

syllabus vs syllable
75% similar
syllabus vs syllables
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for syllabus
PropertyValue
Headwordsyllabus
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsɪləbəs/
Letters8
Frequency rank#18,710
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “syllabus”

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).syllabuslands here:

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “sweeps” (#18,709), “swam” (#18,708), “subpoena” (#18,707). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “syllabus” is #18,710. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around syllabus (IPA /ˈsɪləbəs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,710 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for syllabus, with forms such as "slylabus", "ssyllabus", and "sylabus". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "syllable", "syllables", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Medieval Latin syllabus (“list”), which arose as a misprint, its accusative plural syllabos appearing in place of sittybas in a 1470s edition of Cicero's “Ad Atticum” IV.5 and 8. The corrupt form was influenced by the stem of Ancient Greek συλ… The correct English form is syllabus, spelled S-Y-L-L-A-B-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A summary of topics which will be covered during an academic course, or a text or lecture.
  2. 2
    The headnote of a reported case; the brief statement of the points of law determined prefixed to a reported case.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. In the first half of the year, teachers attended the training workshop for the new K-10 Chinese syllabus. In July, almost all the teachers attended the teacher training courses provided by OCAC.
  2. ‘I checked online for a beginner syllabus,’ she say. ‘A syllabus is a plan for how we would work, what I can teach you.’

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin syllabus (“list”), which arose as a misprint, its accusative plural syllabos appearing in place of sittybas in a 1470s edition of Cicero's “Ad Atticum” IV.5 and 8. The corrupt form was influenced by the stem of Ancient Greek συλλαμβάνω (sullambánō, “put together”), the source of σῠλλᾰβή (sŭllăbḗ, “syllable”); the true etymon is σιττύβα (sittúba, “parchment label, table of contents”) [or σιττύβας (sittúbas)] of unknown origin.

This word in other languages

temario(Español)programme(Français)Lehrplan(Deutsch)ementa(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • slylabus
  • ssyllabus
  • sylabus
  • sylalbus
  • syllabbus
  • syllabsu
  • syllabuss
  • syllaubs
  • syllbaus
  • syyllabus
  • ysllabus

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of syllabus - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

slylabus2ssyllabus1sylabus1sylalbus2syllabbus1syllabsu2syllabuss1syllaubs2
Edit distance from "syllabus"

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 "syllabus"?
"syllabus" is spelled S-Y-L-L-A-B-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɪləbəs/.
What does "syllabus" mean?
As a noun, "syllabus" means: A summary of topics which will be covered during an academic course, or a text or lecture.
What words are commonly confused with "syllabus"?
"syllabus" is commonly confused with "syllable", "syllables". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "syllabus"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "syllabus" is /ˈsɪləbəs/. 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 "syllabus"?
Borrowed from Medieval Latin syllabus (“list”), which arose as a misprint, its accusative plural syllabos appearing in place of sittybas in a 1470s edition of Cicero's “Ad Atticum” IV.5 and 8. The corrupt form was influenced by the stem of Ancient... 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 "syllabus", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

subpoena#18,707sturgeon#18,706Stockton#18,703vigilant#18,730

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

slander11 variantsShelton11 variantsridicule11 variantsachieves11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list