transept
/ˈtɹænsɛpt/
"transept" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“transept” is uncommon English (frequency #63,319 among 27,828 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #63,319
- frequency rank, English
- 27,828
- “T” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The transversal part of a church, which crosses at right angles to the greatest length, and between the nave and choir. In the basilicas, this had often no projection at its two ends. In Gothic chu...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | transept |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈtɹænsɛpt/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #63,319 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “transept” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
transept is uncommon English at frequency #63,319 among 27,828 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈtɹænsɛpt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The transversal part of a church, which crosses at right angles to the greatest length, and between the nave and choir. In the basilicas, this had often no projection at its two ends. In Gothic chu...".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for transept, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French transept, from New Latin transeptum, from Latin trans- (“across”) + saeptum (“fence, partition, enclosure”). The correct English form is transept, spelled T-R-A-N-S-E-P-T.
Definition
- 1The transversal part of a church, which crosses at right angles to the greatest length, and between the nave and choir. In the basilicas, this had often no projection at its two ends. In Gothic churches these project greatly, and should be called the arms of the transept. It is common, however, to speak of the arms themselves as the transepts.
Etymology
From French transept, from New Latin transeptum, from Latin trans- (“across”) + saeptum (“fence, partition, enclosure”).
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "transept"?
What does "transept" mean?
How do you pronounce "transept"?
What is the origin of the word "transept"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “transept”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-R-A-N-S-E-P-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈtɹænsɛpt/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this 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.