withe
/wɪθ/
"withe" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“withe” is uncommon English (frequency #83,906 among 12,113 “W” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #83,906
- frequency rank, English
- 12,113
- “W” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A flexible, slender shoot or twig, especially when used as a band or for binding; a withy.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | withe |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /wɪθ/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #83,906 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “withe” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
withe is uncommon English at frequency #83,906 among 12,113 “W” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /wɪθ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for withe, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English withe, withthe, from Old English wiþe, wiþþe (“cord, band, thong, fetter”), from Proto-Germanic *wiþiz, *wiþjǭ (“cord, rope”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéh₁itis (“that which twines”), from *weyt- (“that which winds or bends, branch, swi… The correct English form is withe, spelled W-I-T-H-E.
Definition
- 1A flexible, slender shoot or twig, especially when used as a band or for binding; a withy.
- 2A band of twisted twigs.
- 3An elastic handle to a tool to save the hand from the shock of blows.
- 4An iron attachment on one end of a mast or boom, with a ring, through which another mast or boom is rigged out and secured.
- 5Alternative spelling of wythe (“single section of bricks one unit thick”).
- 6Alternative spelling of wythe (“partition between flues in a chimney”).
Etymology
From Middle English withe, withthe, from Old English wiþe, wiþþe (“cord, band, thong, fetter”), from Proto-Germanic *wiþiz, *wiþjǭ (“cord, rope”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéh₁itis (“that which twines”), from *weyt- (“that which winds or bends, branch, switch”), from Proto-Indo-European *wey- (“to turn, wind, bend”). Cognate with Danish vidje (“wicker”), Swedish vidja (“withe, wicker, osier”), Icelandic við, viðja (“a withe”), Latin vītis (“vine”), Russian ветвь (vetvʹ, “branch, bough, limb”). Doublet of vice (“a type of tool, etc.”). The brickwork and chimney architecture senses may have a different etymology, see wythe.
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 “withe”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is W-I-T-H-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /wɪθ/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.