tellurium

/tɪˈljʊəɹiəm/

//tɪˈljʊəɹiəm// noun

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

"tellurium" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tellurium” is uncommon English (frequency #79,121 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#79,121
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The chemical element with atomic number 52. Symbol: Te. A rare, brittle, mildly toxic, silver-white metalloid.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tellurium · tellurium · English

tellurium · rank #79,121 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #79,121
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH Tessie

Nearest frequency peer: Tessie (+2 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.

Long-tail ranks near “tellurium”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “tellurium” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for tellurium
PropertyValue
Headwordtellurium
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/tɪˈljʊəɹiəm/
Letters9
Frequency rank#79,121
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “tellurium” in English

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

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “Tessie” (#79,123), “TEFL” (#79,118), “Taye” (#79,117). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tellurium” is #79,121. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

tellurium is uncommon English at frequency #79,121 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /tɪˈljʊəɹiəm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for tellurium in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: Latin tellūs (“earth”) + -ium The correct English form is tellurium, spelled T-E-L-L-U-R-I-U-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    The chemical element with atomic number 52. Symbol: Te. A rare, brittle, mildly toxic, silver-white metalloid.
  2. 2
    A single atom of this element.

Etymology

Latin tellūs (“earth”) + -ium

Synonyms

sylvanium

This word in other languages

teluro(Español)tellure(Français)Tellur(Deutsch)telúrio(Português)

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 "tellurium"?
"tellurium" is spelled T-E-L-L-U-R-I-U-M. The IPA pronunciation is /tɪˈljʊəɹiəm/.
What does "tellurium" mean?
As a noun, "tellurium" means: The chemical element with atomic number 52. Symbol: Te. A rare, brittle, mildly toxic, silver-white metalloid.
How do you pronounce "tellurium"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tellurium" is /tɪˈljʊəɹiəm/. 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 "tellurium"?
Latin tellūs (“earth”) + -ium 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 "tellurium", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Tillamook#79,132swordplay#79,106trackside#79,140unmanaged#79,160

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list