Ursa Major
/ˌɝsə ˈmeɪdʒɚ/
"ursa-major" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Ursa Major” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A large circumpolar constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a bear. It includes the familiar asterism the Big Dipper and the stars Mizar, Dubhe, and Alkaid.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Ursa Major |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˌɝsə ˈmeɪdʒɚ/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Ursa Major” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
Ursa Major is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /ˌɝsə ˈmeɪdʒɚ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A large circumpolar constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a bear. It includes the familiar asterism the Big Dipper and the stars Mizar, Dubhe, and Alkaid.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for Ursa Major in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin Ursa maior (“(the) greater bear”). The correct English form is Ursa Major, spelled U-R-S-A- -M-A-J-O-R.
Definition
- 1A large circumpolar constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a bear. It includes the familiar asterism the Big Dipper and the stars Mizar, Dubhe, and Alkaid.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin Ursa maior (“(the) greater bear”).
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 “Ursa Major”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is U-R-S-A- -M-A-J-O-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌɝsə ˈmeɪdʒɚ/ (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.