Ursa Minor
/ˌɝsə ˈmaɪnɚ/
"ursa-minor" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Ursa Minor” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a proper noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A circumpolar constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a bear. It includes the familiar asterism of the Little Dipper and, as part of it, the northern pole star Polaris, as well as Kochab.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Ursa Minor |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˌɝsə ˈmaɪnɚ/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Ursa Minor” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Ursa Minor is 10 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌɝsə ˈmaɪnɚ/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A circumpolar constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a bear. It includes the familiar asterism of the Little Dipper and, as part of it, the northern pole star Polaris, as well as Kochab.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for Ursa Minor, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin Ursa minor (“(the) lesser bear”). The correct English form is Ursa Minor, spelled U-R-S-A- -M-I-N-O-R.
Definition
- 1A circumpolar constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a bear. It includes the familiar asterism of the Little Dipper and, as part of it, the northern pole star Polaris, as well as Kochab.
Etymology
From Latin Ursa minor (“(the) lesser bear”).
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “Ursa Minor”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is U-R-S-A- -M-I-N-O-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌɝsə ˈmaɪnɚ/ (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.