trapezium
/tɹəˈpiː.zi.əm/
"trapezium" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“trapezium” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A quadrilateral with two sides parallel.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | trapezium |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /tɹəˈpiː.zi.əm/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “trapezium” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
trapezium is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /tɹəˈpiː.zi.əm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for trapezium, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: Recorded since 1570, learned borrowing from Late Latin trapezium, from Ancient Greek τραπέζιον (trapézion, “irregular quadrilateral”, literally “a little table”), diminutive of τράπεζα (trápeza, “table”). Doublet of trapeze. The correct English form is trapezium, spelled T-R-A-P-E-Z-I-U-M.
Definition
- 1A quadrilateral with two sides parallel.
- 2A quadrilateral with two sides parallel.
- 3A four-sided polygon with no parallel sides and no sides equal; a simple convex irregular quadrilateral.
- 4The trapezium bone of the wrist.
- 5A region on the ventral side of the brain, either just back of the pons Varolii, or, as in man, covered by the posterior extension of its transverse fibers.
Etymology
Recorded since 1570, learned borrowing from Late Latin trapezium, from Ancient Greek τραπέζιον (trapézion, “irregular quadrilateral”, literally “a little table”), diminutive of τράπεζα (trápeza, “table”). Doublet of trapeze.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “trapezium”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-R-A-P-E-Z-I-U-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /tɹəˈpiː.zi.əm/ (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
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.