torsades de pointes
/tɔː(ɹ)ˈsɑːd də ˈpwænt/
Detailed reference entry for the English word "torsades-de-pointes", 19-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Wiktionary, and usage frequency ranked against an open word-frequency list covering the top 100,000 English words. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "torsades-de-pointes" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "torsades-de-pointes" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.
The verdict
“torsades de pointes” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 19
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, predisposing to sudden cardiac death and more likely to occur during prolongations of the QT interval.
Compare similar words
See how torsades de pointes compares against similar English words.
Browse all word comparisons →| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | torsades de pointes |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /tɔː(ɹ)ˈsɑːd də ˈpwænt/ |
| Letters | 19 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “torsades de pointes” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for torsades de pointes is 19 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /tɔː(ɹ)ˈsɑːd də ˈpwænt/. 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: "A polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, predisposing to sudden cardiac death and more likely to occur during prolongations of the QT interval.".
No misspelling variants are generated for torsades de pointes in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French torsader (“to twist”), de (“of”), and pointe (“a(n ECG) spike”), from the characteristic/classic appearance of the associated electrocardiogram image of a turning of the QRS complex's orientation around the isoelectric baseline (namely peaks whi… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is torsades de pointes, spelled T-O-R-S-A-D-E-S- -D-E- -P-O-I-N-T-E-S, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1A polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, predisposing to sudden cardiac death and more likely to occur during prolongations of the QT interval.
Etymology
From French torsader (“to twist”), de (“of”), and pointe (“a(n ECG) spike”), from the characteristic/classic appearance of the associated electrocardiogram image of a turning of the QRS complex's orientation around the isoelectric baseline (namely peaks which are at first f.e. pointing up are progressively seen to be diminishing in height and then pointing further and further down for subsequent heartbeats); term coined by the French physician François Dessertenne in 1966.
Synonyms
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.
Cite this page
Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY-SA). Copy the citation:
PlainSpell, “torsades de pointes, English word data” (May 6, 2026). Derived from Wiktionary (kaikki.org, CC BY-SA) and an open word-frequency list. https://plainspell.com/en/word/torsades-de-pointes
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Using “torsades de pointes”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-O-R-S-A-D-E-S- -D-E- -P-O-I-N-T-E-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /tɔː(ɹ)ˈsɑːd də ˈpwænt/ (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
Nearby English words
Other entries that begin with the letter T in our English index: