ultima Thule

noun

"ultima-thule" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ultima Thule” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A place beyond the borders of the known world.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ultima-thule · ultima Thule · English

ultima Thule · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "U" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for ultima Thule
PropertyValue
Headwordultima Thule
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “ultima Thule” in English

ultima Thulesits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

ultima Thule is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for ultima Thule, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin ultima Thūlē, nominative feminine singular of ultimus (“furthest”) + Thule, from mediaeval geography; originally from the Ancient Greek Θούλη (Thoúlē), a (possibly mythical) island to the north of Britain. The correct English form is ultima Thule, spelled U-L-T-I-M-A- -T-H-U-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A place beyond the borders of the known world.
  2. 2
    Highest achievement.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Ultima Thule! Utmost Isle! / Here in thy harbors for a while / We lower our sails; a while we rest / From the unending, endless quest.
  2. It is impossible to define a reason for the Gulf Settlements attaining this unenviable notoriety, unless it is owing to the remoteness of their locality, and the kind of Ultima Thule that part of Australia seems to be.

Etymology

From Latin ultima Thūlē, nominative feminine singular of ultimus (“furthest”) + Thule, from mediaeval geography; originally from the Ancient Greek Θούλη (Thoúlē), a (possibly mythical) island to the north of Britain.

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

How do you spell "ultima Thule"?
"ultima Thule" is spelled U-L-T-I-M-A- -T-H-U-L-E.
What does "ultima Thule" mean?
As a noun, "ultima Thule" means: A place beyond the borders of the known world.
What is the origin of the word "ultima Thule"?
From Latin ultima Thūlē, nominative feminine singular of ultimus (“furthest”) + Thule, from mediaeval geography; originally from the Ancient Greek Θούλη (Thoúlē), a (possibly mythical) island to the north of Britain. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list