Zebedee

/ˈzɛbɪdiː/

//ˈzɛbɪdiː// name

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

"zebedee" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Zebedee” is uncommon English (frequency #81,059 among 265 “Z” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#81,059
frequency rank, English
265
“Z” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The father of the Apostles James and John in the Bible.

Corpus desk

Index EN-zebedee · Zebedee · English

Zebedee · rank #81,059 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #81,059
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 265
  • PHOTO-FINISH Zenobia

Nearest frequency peer: Zenobia (+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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “Zebedee”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “Zebedee” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Zebedee
PropertyValue
HeadwordZebedee
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈzɛbɪdiː/
Letters7
Frequency rank#81,059
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Zebedee” sits in English frequency

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

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Zebedee is uncommon English at frequency #81,059 among 265 “Z” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /ˈzɛbɪdiː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for Zebedee, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. 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: Ultimately from Ancient Greek Ζεβεδαῖος (Zebedaîos), from Hebrew זְבַדְיָה (Zəḇaḏyâ), from זַבְדִּי (zab̲dî, “my gift”). Doublet of Zebadiah. The correct English form is Zebedee, spelled Z-E-B-E-D-E-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The father of the Apostles James and John in the Bible.
  2. 2
    A male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. And going from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.

Etymology

Ultimately from Ancient Greek Ζεβεδαῖος (Zebedaîos), from Hebrew זְבַדְיָה (Zəḇaḏyâ), from זַבְדִּי (zab̲dî, “my gift”). Doublet of Zebadiah.

This word in other languages

Zébédée(Français)

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Zebedee"?
"Zebedee" is spelled Z-E-B-E-D-E-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈzɛbɪdiː/.
What does "Zebedee" mean?
As a proper noun, "Zebedee" means: The father of the Apostles James and John in the Bible.
How do you pronounce "Zebedee"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Zebedee" is /ˈzɛbɪdiː/. 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 "Zebedee"?
Ultimately from Ancient Greek Ζεβεδαῖος (Zebedaîos), from Hebrew זְבַדְיָה (Zəḇaḏyâ), from זַבְדִּי (zab̲dî, “my gift”). Doublet of Zebadiah. 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 "Zebedee", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Zenobia#81,060Yucatán#81,056yttrium#81,055Yolande#81,052

What to do next

You've looked up "Zebedee". Here's where to go from here.

  • Usage frequency rank #81,059 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "Z" letter cohort. Z–Z browse
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PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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