vespers

/ˈvɛsˌpɝz/

//ˈvɛsˌpɝz// noun

"vespers" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“vespers” is uncommon English (frequency #57,160 among 969 “V” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#57,160
frequency rank, English
969
“V” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The sixth of the seven canonical hours, an evening prayer service

Corpus desk

Index EN-vespers · vespers · English

vespers · rank #57,160 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #57,160
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 969
  • PHOTO-FINISH vilify

Nearest frequency peer: vilify (+1 rank slots)

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.

Long-tail ranks near “vespers”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “vespers” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for vespers
PropertyValue
Headwordvespers
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈvɛsˌpɝz/
Letters7
Frequency rank#57,160
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “vespers” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).vespersfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “vilify” (#57,161), “verbose” (#57,158), “virility” (#57,162). Among 969 “V” headwords, “vespers” is #57,160. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

vespers is uncommon English at frequency #57,160 among 969 “V” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈvɛsˌpɝz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for vespers, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English vespers, from Old French vespres (French vêpres), from Ecclesiastical Latin vesperae (“vespers”), substantivisation of relational Late Latin vesperus (“evening”), from vesper (“evening”) + -us. Euphemistic use first as Vèpres éphésiennes… The correct English form is vespers, spelled V-E-S-P-E-R-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The sixth of the seven canonical hours, an evening prayer service
  2. 2
    A massacre

Etymology

From Middle English vespers, from Old French vespres (French vêpres), from Ecclesiastical Latin vesperae (“vespers”), substantivisation of relational Late Latin vesperus (“evening”), from vesper (“evening”) + -us. Euphemistic use first as Vèpres éphésiennes (“Ephesian Vespers”), coined in 1890 by historian Théodore Reinach by analogy with the Sicilian Vespers.

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

How do you spell "vespers"?
"vespers" is spelled V-E-S-P-E-R-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈvɛsˌpɝz/.
What does "vespers" mean?
As a noun, "vespers" means: The sixth of the seven canonical hours, an evening prayer service
How do you pronounce "vespers"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "vespers" is /ˈvɛsˌpɝz/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "vespers"?
From Middle English vespers, from Old French vespres (French vêpres), from Ecclesiastical Latin vesperae (“vespers”), substantivisation of relational Late Latin vesperus (“evening”), from vesper (“evening”) + -us. Euphemistic use first as Vèpres é... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "vespers", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list