wolf-child

noun

"wolf-child" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“wolf-child” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A human child that has been raised by wolves from infancy.

Key facts for wolf-child
PropertyValue
Headwordwolf-child
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “wolf-child” sits in English frequency

wolf-child falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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

Rare enough to double-check

wolf-child is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

wolf-child doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is wolf-child, spelled W-O-L-F---C-H-I-L-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A human child that has been raised by wolves from infancy.
  2. 2
    A being that is part wolf, part child.
  3. 3
    A baby or young wolf.

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 "wolf-child"?
"wolf-child" is spelled W-O-L-F---C-H-I-L-D.
What does "wolf-child" mean?
As a noun, "wolf-child" means: A human child that has been raised by wolves from infancy.
What language does "wolf-child" come from?
"wolf-child" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Using “wolf-child”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is W-O-L-F---C-H-I-L-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list