syllabus
/ˈsɪləbəs/
"syllabus" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“syllabus” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #18,710 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #18,710
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A summary of topics which will be covered during an academic course, or a text or lecture.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | syllabus |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsɪləbəs/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #18,710 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “syllabus” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for syllabus is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsɪləbəs/. Corpus data places it at rank #18,710 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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
- 1A summary of topics which will be covered during an academic course, or a text or lecture.
- 2The headnote of a reported case; the brief statement of the points of law determined prefixed to a reported case.
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
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.
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"?
What does "syllabus" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "syllabus"?
How do you pronounce "syllabus"?
What is the origin of the word "syllabus"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “syllabus”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-Y-L-L-A-B-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsɪləbəs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “syllable” - see the side-by-side comparison. syllabus vs syllable
- 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.