tumulus
/ˈtjuːmjələs/
"tumulus" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“tumulus” is uncommon English (frequency #98,829 among 27,828 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #98,829
- frequency rank, English
- 27,828
- “T” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A mound of earth, especially one placed over a prehistoric tomb; a barrow.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | tumulus |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈtjuːmjələs/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #98,829 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “tumulus” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
tumulus is uncommon English at frequency #98,829 among 27,828 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈtjuːmjələs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A mound of earth, especially one placed over a prehistoric tomb; a barrow.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for tumulus in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin tumulus (“mound, hill”), from tumeō (“I swell”). Doublet of tombolo. The correct English form is tumulus, spelled T-U-M-U-L-U-S.
Definition
- 1A mound of earth, especially one placed over a prehistoric tomb; a barrow.
Etymology
From Latin tumulus (“mound, hill”), from tumeō (“I swell”). Doublet of tombolo.
Synonyms
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 "tumulus"?
What does "tumulus" mean?
How do you pronounce "tumulus"?
What is the origin of the word "tumulus"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “tumulus”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-U-M-U-L-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈtjuːmjələs/ (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.