temse
/tɛms/
"temse" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“temse” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To sift.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | temse |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /tɛms/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “temse” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for temse is 5 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /tɛms/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "To sift.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for temse, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English temse (“a sieve”) and temsen (“to sieve”), both from Old English temsian, temesian (“to sieve; strain; sift”). Compare also French tamis, Dutch teems, North Frisian tems, Danish dialectal tems (“sieve”), German dialectal Zims (“sieve”). … The correct English form is temse, spelled T-E-M-S-E.
Definition
- 1To sift.
Etymology
From Middle English temse (“a sieve”) and temsen (“to sieve”), both from Old English temsian, temesian (“to sieve; strain; sift”). Compare also French tamis, Dutch teems, North Frisian tems, Danish dialectal tems (“sieve”), German dialectal Zims (“sieve”). Compare also tamine. Doublet of tamis.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “temse”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-E-M-S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /tɛms/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.