taper
/ˈteɪpə/
"taper" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“taper” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,713. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #19,713
- frequency rank, English
- 3,151
- “T” headwords
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A slender wax candle.
Corpus desk
Index EN-taper · taper · English
taper · rank #19,713 · 6 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-MID #19,713
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 6 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,151
- PHOTO-FINISH taj
Nearest frequency peer: taj (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “taper”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- subtly
subtly
80,292 corpus weight
- surfer
surfer
80,290 corpus weight
- taj
taj
80,289 corpus weight
- taper
taper
80,288 corpus weight
- teaspoon
teaspoon
80,287 corpus weight
- tightening
tightening
80,284 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “taper” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | taper |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈteɪpə/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #19,713 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “taper” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 6 spelling variants around taper (IPA /ˈteɪpə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #19,713 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for taper, with forms such as "atper", "taepr", and "taperr". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "tar", "ter", "type", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English taper, from Old English tapor (“taper, candle, wick of a lamp”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Latin papyrus (“papyrus", used in Mediaeval times to mean "wick of a candle”). If so, it is a doublet of papyrus. Alternatively, of Celtic… The correct English form is taper, spelled T-A-P-E-R.
Definition
- 1A slender wax candle.
- 2A small light.
- 3A tapering form; gradual diminution of thickness and/or cross section in an elongated object.
- 4The portion of an object with such a form.
- 5Ellipsis of machine taper.
- 6A thin stick used for lighting candles, either a wax-coated wick or a slow-burning wooden rod.
- 7A cone-shaped item for stretching the hole for an ear gauge (piercing).
- 8Gradual reduction over time.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how taper appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Strike on the Tinder, hoa: / Giue me a Taper: […]
Take not away the Taper, leaue it burning:
Etymology
From Middle English taper, from Old English tapor (“taper, candle, wick of a lamp”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Latin papyrus (“papyrus", used in Mediaeval times to mean "wick of a candle”). If so, it is a doublet of papyrus. Alternatively, of Celtic origin related to Irish tapar (“taper”), Welsh tampr (“a taper, torch”); further compare Sanskrit तपती (tápati, “(it) warms, gives out heat, is hot; (it) heats”). More at tepid.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- atper
- taepr
- taperr
- tapre
- tpaer
- ttaper
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of taper - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "taper", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "taper". Here's where to go from here.
- "taper" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "tar". View pair
- 6 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #19,713 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "T" letter cohort. T–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.