tilly

/ˈtɪli/

//ˈtɪli// noun

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

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

The verdict

“tilly” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #31,380. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#31,380
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An extra product given to a customer at no additional charge; a lagniappe.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tilly · tilly · English

tilly · rank #31,380 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #31,380
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH tonnage

Nearest frequency peer: tonnage (+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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “tilly”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “tilly” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

tilly vs tiny
60% similar
tilly vs toll
60% similar
tilly vs tilt
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for tilly
PropertyValue
Headwordtilly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtɪli/
Letters5
Frequency rank#31,380
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “tilly”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).tillylands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “tonnage” (#31,381), “tethered” (#31,377), “totes” (#31,383). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tilly” is #31,380. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around tilly (IPA /ˈtɪli/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #31,380 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Dominant gloss: "An extra product given to a customer at no additional charge; a lagniappe.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for tilly, with forms such as "itlly", "tillyy", and "tily". 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, "tiny", "toll", "tilt", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Irish tuilleadh (“more”). The correct English form is tilly, spelled T-I-L-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    An extra product given to a customer at no additional charge; a lagniappe.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how tilly appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Myles: "Indeed your Honour may safely say so : Iwas ploughing away […] when I bethought how I forgot to tell little Jem, when he'd be buying my pen'orth of snuff, to be sure to get it in two separate ha'porths, the way he'd have the two tillies. So what could Ido but run home, to […] go myself for the snuff, and be sure to get my tillies.
  2. He watched her pour into the measure and thence into the jug rich white milk, not hers. […] She poured again a measureful and a tilly.

Etymology

From Irish tuilleadh (“more”).

Synonyms

lagniappepasella

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • itlly
  • tillyy
  • tily
  • tilyl
  • tlily
  • ttilly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tilly - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

itlly2tillyy1tily1tilyl2tlily2ttilly1
Edit distance from "tilly"

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 "tilly"?
"tilly" is spelled T-I-L-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtɪli/.
What does "tilly" mean?
As a noun, "tilly" means: An extra product given to a customer at no additional charge; a lagniappe.
What words are commonly confused with "tilly"?
"tilly" is commonly confused with "tiny", "toll", "tilt". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tilly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tilly" is /ˈtɪli/. 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 "tilly"?
From Irish tuilleadh (“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 "tilly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

totes#31,383tacit#31,370Valle#31,395vixen#31,402

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

wank6 variantsrunny6 variantsAruba6 variantsbask6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list