votary

/ˈvəʊt(ə)ri/

//ˈvəʊt(ə)ri// adj

"votary" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“votary” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Consecrated by a vow or promise; consequent on a vow; devoted; promised.

Corpus desk

Index EN-votary · votary · English

votary · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "V" 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.

Key facts for votary
PropertyValue
Headwordvotary
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈvəʊt(ə)ri/
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “votary” in English

votarysits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

votary is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈvəʊt(ə)ri/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Consecrated by a vow or promise; consequent on a vow; devoted; promised.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for votary, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. 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: From Latin votus, past participle of vovere (“to vow, to devote”). The correct English form is votary, spelled V-O-T-A-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Consecrated by a vow or promise; consequent on a vow; devoted; promised.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how votary appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. And votary Reſolution is made Equipollent to Cuſtome

Etymology

From Latin votus, past participle of vovere (“to vow, to devote”).

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

How do you spell "votary"?
"votary" is spelled V-O-T-A-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈvəʊt(ə)ri/.
What does "votary" mean?
As an adjective, "votary" means: Consecrated by a vow or promise; consequent on a vow; devoted; promised.
How do you pronounce "votary"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "votary" is /ˈvəʊt(ə)ri/. 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 "votary"?
From Latin votus, past participle of vovere (“to vow, to devote”). 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list