sylph

/sɪlf/

//sɪlf// noun

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

"sylph" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sylph” is uncommon English (frequency #97,611 among 54,294 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#97,611
frequency rank, English
54,294
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An invisible being of the air.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sylph · sylph · English

sylph · rank #97,611 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #97,611
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 54,294
  • PHOTO-FINISH sweepstake

Nearest frequency peer: sweepstake (-3 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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “sylph”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “sylph” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026
Key facts for sylph
PropertyValue
Headwordsylph
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/sɪlf/
Letters5
Frequency rank#97,611
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sylph” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). sylph lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sylph is uncommon English at frequency #97,611 among 54,294 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /sɪlf/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for sylph, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in 1657. From New Latin sylphes, coined by Paracelsus in the 16th century. The coinage may derive from Latin sylvestris (“of the woods”) and nympha (“nymph”). Ultimately from the root silva (“woods, forest”). Related to sylvan. More at Wikipe… The correct English form is sylph, spelled S-Y-L-P-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    An invisible being of the air.
  2. 2
    The elemental being of air, usually female.
  3. 3
    A slender woman or girl, usually graceful and sometimes with the implication of sublime station over everyday people.
  4. 4
    Any of the mainly dark green and blue hummingbirds (genus Aglaiocercus), the male of which has a long forked tail.

Etymology

First attested in 1657. From New Latin sylphes, coined by Paracelsus in the 16th century. The coinage may derive from Latin sylvestris (“of the woods”) and nympha (“nymph”). Ultimately from the root silva (“woods, forest”). Related to sylvan. More at Wikipedia.

This word in other languages

sílfide(Español)sylphe(Français)Sylphe(Deutsch)

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sylph"?
"sylph" is spelled S-Y-L-P-H. The IPA pronunciation is /sɪlf/.
What does "sylph" mean?
As a noun, "sylph" means: An invisible being of the air.
How do you pronounce "sylph"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sylph" is /sɪlf/. 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 "sylph"?
First attested in 1657. From New Latin sylphes, coined by Paracelsus in the 16th century. The coinage may derive from Latin sylvestris (“of the woods”) and nympha (“nymph”). Ultimately from the root silva (“woods, forest”). Related to sylvan. More... 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 "sylph", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Tarim#97,614Tiong#97,630tranq#97,644sprat#97,573
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list