wormwood
/ˈwə(ɹ)m.wʊd/
"wormwood" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“wormwood” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #47,428 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #47,428
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An intensely bitter herb (Artemisia absinthium and similar plants in genus Artemisia) used in medicine, in the production of absinthe and vermouth, and as a tonic.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | wormwood |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈwə(ɹ)m.wʊd/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #47,428 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “wormwood” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for wormwood is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈwə(ɹ)m.wʊd/. Corpus data places it at rank #47,428 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for wormwood, with forms such as "owrmwood", "womrwood", and "wormmwood". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English wormwode, a folk etymology (as if worm + wood) of wermode (“wormwood”), from Old English wermōd (“wormwood, absinthe”), from Proto-West Germanic *warjamōdā (“wormwood”). Cognate with Middle Low German wermode, wermede (“wormwood”), Germa… The correct English form is wormwood, spelled W-O-R-M-W-O-O-D.
Definition
- 1An intensely bitter herb (Artemisia absinthium and similar plants in genus Artemisia) used in medicine, in the production of absinthe and vermouth, and as a tonic.
- 2Something that causes bitterness or affliction; a cause of mortification or vexation.
Etymology
From Middle English wormwode, a folk etymology (as if worm + wood) of wermode (“wormwood”), from Old English wermōd (“wormwood, absinthe”), from Proto-West Germanic *warjamōdā (“wormwood”). Cognate with Middle Low German wermode, wermede (“wormwood”), German Wermut (“wormwood”). Doublet of vermouth.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: owrmwood,womrwood,wormmwood,wormowod,wormwod,wormwodo,wormwoodd,wormwwood,worrmwood,worwmood,wromwood,wwormwood
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of wormwood - 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.
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 “wormwood”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is W-O-R-M-W-O-O-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈwə(ɹ)m.wʊd/ (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
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.