tourmaline

/ˈtʊɚ.mə.lɪn/

//ˈtʊɚ.mə.lɪn// noun

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

"tourmaline" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tourmaline” is uncommon English (frequency #50,848 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#50,848
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A complex black or dark-coloured borosilicate mineral, compounded with various chemical elements and considered a semi-precious stone.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tourmaline · tourmaline · English

tourmaline · rank #50,848 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #50,848
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH timepiece

Nearest frequency peer: timepiece (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “tourmaline”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for tourmaline
PropertyValue
Headwordtourmaline
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtʊɚ.mə.lɪn/
Letters10
Frequency rank#50,848
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “tourmaline” in English

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).tourmalinefalls 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: “timepiece” (#50,847), “tourniquet” (#50,849), “tiffin” (#50,846). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tourmaline” is #50,848. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

tourmaline is uncommon English at frequency #50,848 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈtʊɚ.mə.lɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

tourmaline has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French tourmaline, ultimately from Sinhalese තෝරමල්ලී (tōramallī, “carnelian”) The correct English form is tourmaline, spelled T-O-U-R-M-A-L-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A complex black or dark-coloured borosilicate mineral, compounded with various chemical elements and considered a semi-precious stone.
  2. 2
    A transparent gemstone cut from it.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The floor of the chamber was tesselated, of marble and green tourmaline, and on every square of tourmaline was carven the image of a fish: as the dolphin, the conger, the cat-fish, the salmon, the tunny, the squid, and other wonders of the deep.
  2. Although there are dozens of different types of gems, among the best known and most important are […] . (Common gem materials not addressed in this article include amber, amethyst, chalcedony, garnet, lazurite, malachite, opals, peridot, rhodonite, spinel, tourmaline, turquoise and zircon.)

Etymology

From French tourmaline, ultimately from Sinhalese තෝරමල්ලී (tōramallī, “carnelian”)

This word in other languages

turmalina(Español)tourmaline(Français)Turmalin(Deutsch)

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 "tourmaline"?
"tourmaline" is spelled T-O-U-R-M-A-L-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtʊɚ.mə.lɪn/.
What does "tourmaline" mean?
As a noun, "tourmaline" means: A complex black or dark-coloured borosilicate mineral, compounded with various chemical elements and considered a semi-precious stone.
How do you pronounce "tourmaline"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tourmaline" is /ˈtʊɚ.mə.lɪn/. 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 "tourmaline"?
From French tourmaline, ultimately from Sinhalese තෝරමල්ලී (tōramallī, “carnelian”) 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 "tourmaline", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

tourniquet#50,849troubadour#50,858tumbleweed#50,859uncredited#50,872

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list