wether

/ˈwɛðɚ/

//ˈwɛðɚ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

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

The verdict

“wether” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #38,242. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#38,242
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A castrated goat.

Corpus desk

Index EN-wether · wether · English

wether · rank #38,242 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #38,242
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH wham

Nearest frequency peer: wham (+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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “wether”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “wether” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

wether vs wither
83% similar
wether vs wetter
83% similar
wether vs Wexler
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for wether
PropertyValue
Headwordwether
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈwɛðɚ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#38,242
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “wether”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).wetherlands here:

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “wham” (#38,243), “Wien” (#38,244), “WeChat” (#38,239). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “wether” is #38,242. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around wether (IPA /ˈwɛðɚ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #38,242 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for wether, with forms such as "ewther", "wehter", and "wetehr". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "wither", "wetter", "Wexler", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English wether, wethir, wedyr, from Old English weþer (“a wether, ram”), from Proto-West Germanic *weþru, from Proto-Germanic *weþruz (“wether”), from Proto-Indo-European *wet- (“year”). Cognates Cognate with Scots weddir, woddir, wadder (“wethe… The correct English form is wether, spelled W-E-T-H-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A castrated goat.
  2. 2
    A castrated ram.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. I am a tainted Weather of the flocke, / Meeteſt for death, the weakeſt kinde of fruite

Etymology

From Middle English wether, wethir, wedyr, from Old English weþer (“a wether, ram”), from Proto-West Germanic *weþru, from Proto-Germanic *weþruz (“wether”), from Proto-Indo-European *wet- (“year”). Cognates Cognate with Scots weddir, woddir, wadder (“wether”), Dutch weder, weer (“wether”), German Widder (“wether, ram”), Norwegian Bokmål vær (“ram”), Norwegian Nynorsk vêr (“ram”), Swedish vädur (“wether, ram”), Icelandic veður (“wether, ram”), Latin vitulus (“calf”).

This word in other languages

Mönch(Deutsch)castrão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ewther
  • wehter
  • wetehr
  • wetherr
  • wethher
  • wethre
  • wetther
  • wteher
  • wwether

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of wether - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ewther2wehter2wetehr2wetherr1wethher1wethre2wetther1wteher2
Edit distance from "wether"

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 "wether"?
"wether" is spelled W-E-T-H-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈwɛðɚ/.
What does "wether" mean?
As a noun, "wether" means: A castrated goat.
What words are commonly confused with "wether"?
"wether" is commonly confused with "wither", "wetter", "Wexler". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "wether"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wether" is /ˈwɛðɚ/. 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 "wether"?
From Middle English wether, wethir, wedyr, from Old English weþer (“a wether, ram”), from Proto-West Germanic *weþru, from Proto-Germanic *weþruz (“wether”), from Proto-Indo-European *wet- (“year”). Cognates Cognate with Scots weddir, woddir, wadd... 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 "wether", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

WeChat#38,239winked#38,245woohoo#38,247visage#38,235

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

Vanuatu9 variantsAdkins9 variantstrimmer9 variantsthicke9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list