velar
/ˈviːlə/
"velar" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“velar” is an uncommon English word, ranked #67,148 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #67,148
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Articulated at the velum or soft palate.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | velar |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈviːlə/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #67,148 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “velar” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for velar is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈviːlə/. Corpus data places it at rank #67,148 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
velar doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin vēlāris, from vēlum (“sail; veil, awning”). The correct English form is velar, spelled V-E-L-A-R.
Definition
- 1Articulated at the velum or soft palate.
- 2Referring to a veil or velum.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin vēlāris, from vēlum (“sail; veil, awning”).
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
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Using “velar”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is V-E-L-A-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈviːlə/ (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.