theremin
/ˈθɛə.ɹəˌmɪn/
"theremin" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“theremin” is uncommon English (frequency #96,569 among 27,828 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #96,569
- frequency rank, English
- 27,828
- “T” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An electronic musical instrument that generates sound of varying pitch and volume depending on the proximity of the musician’s hands to two antennae mounted on the instrument.
Corpus desk
Index EN-theremin · theremin · English
theremin · rank #96,569 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #96,569
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 27,828
- PHOTO-FINISH thermistor
Nearest frequency peer: thermistor (+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 “theremin”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- teres
teres
3,438 corpus weight
- terraform
terraform
3,437 corpus weight
- tessellation
tessellation
3,436 corpus weight
- theremin
theremin
3,432 corpus weight
- thermistor
thermistor
3,431 corpus weight
- thiam
thiam
3,430 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “theremin” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | theremin |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈθɛə.ɹəˌmɪn/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #96,569 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “theremin” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
theremin is uncommon English at frequency #96,569 among 27,828 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈθɛə.ɹəˌmɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An electronic musical instrument that generates sound of varying pitch and volume depending on the proximity of the musician’s hands to two antennae mounted on the instrument.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for theremin in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. 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: Named after Russian inventor Léon Theremin (1896–1993). Theremin is a French version of his Russian name, Ле́в Терме́н (Lév Termén). The correct English form is theremin, spelled T-H-E-R-E-M-I-N.
Definition
- 1An electronic musical instrument that generates sound of varying pitch and volume depending on the proximity of the musician’s hands to two antennae mounted on the instrument.
Etymology
Named after Russian inventor Léon Theremin (1896–1993). Theremin is a French version of his Russian name, Ле́в Терме́н (Lév Termén).
Synonyms
This word in other languages
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "theremin", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
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.