unguent
/ˈʌŋɡjuənt/
"unguent" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“unguent” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any cream containing medicinal ingredients applied to the skin for therapeutic purposes.
Corpus desk
Index EN-unguent · unguent · English
unguent · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | unguent |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈʌŋɡjuənt/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “unguent” in English
Rare enough to double-check
unguent is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈʌŋɡjuənt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Any cream containing medicinal ingredients applied to the skin for therapeutic purposes.".
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for unguent, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin unguentum (“ointment”), from unguō (“I smear with ointment”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃engʷ- (“to salve, anoint”). Cognates include Old Prussian anctan, Old High German ancho (German Anke (“butter”)), Welsh ymenyn (“butter”). The correct English form is unguent, spelled U-N-G-U-E-N-T.
Definition
- 1Any cream containing medicinal ingredients applied to the skin for therapeutic purposes.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how unguent appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
"Alas!" said Syntax, "could I pop / Just now, upon a blacksmith's shop, / Whose cooling unguents would avail / To save poor Grizzle's ears and tail!"
So she put a golden box into his hand, and directed him how to apply the perfumed unguent which it contained, and where to meet her at midnight.
Etymology
From Latin unguentum (“ointment”), from unguō (“I smear with ointment”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃engʷ- (“to salve, anoint”). Cognates include Old Prussian anctan, Old High German ancho (German Anke (“butter”)), Welsh ymenyn (“butter”).
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.