whitlow
/ˈʍɪt.loʊ/
"whitlow" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“whitlow” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An infection near or under the cuticle of a fingernail or toenail.
Corpus desk
Index EN-whitlow · whitlow · English
whitlow · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "W" 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | whitlow |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈʍɪt.loʊ/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “whitlow” in English
Rare enough to double-check
whitlow is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈʍɪt.loʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An infection near or under the cuticle of a fingernail or toenail.".
whitlow has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Late Middle English, an alteration of whitflaw, with the first element deriving either from Middle Dutch vijt or Low German fit (“abscess”), borrowed from Latin fīcus (“fig-shaped (ulcer)”), though also influenced by white. The Latin loan also existed … The correct English form is whitlow, spelled W-H-I-T-L-O-W.
Definition
- 1An infection near or under the cuticle of a fingernail or toenail.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how whitlow appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
'Twas a bad leg allowed me to read the Pilgrim's Progress, and Mark Clark learnt All-Fours in a whitlow.
Etymology
From Late Middle English, an alteration of whitflaw, with the first element deriving either from Middle Dutch vijt or Low German fit (“abscess”), borrowed from Latin fīcus (“fig-shaped (ulcer)”), though also influenced by white. The Latin loan also existed in other languages, such as Old English fic (“hemorrhoids”). See flaw.
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.