Zelig
/ˈzɛlɪɡ/
"zelig" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Zelig” is uncommon English (frequency #82,953 among 2,810 “Z” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #82,953
- frequency rank, English
- 2,810
- “Z” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An ordinary person who can change their appearance or behavior to suit their surroundings, especially one who is unexpectedly associated with important events or people.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Zelig |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈzɛlɪɡ/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #82,953 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Zelig” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
Zelig is uncommon English at frequency #82,953 among 2,810 “Z” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈzɛlɪɡ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for Zelig in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From the surname of the character Leonard Zelig from the 1983 film Zelig who meets many famous people in the 1920s and 1930s and, apparently out of his desire to fit in and be liked, unwittingly takes on the characteristics of the strong personalities aroun… The correct English form is Zelig, spelled Z-E-L-I-G.
Definition
- 1An ordinary person who can change their appearance or behavior to suit their surroundings, especially one who is unexpectedly associated with important events or people.
- 2An unimportant person who appears at multiple important events.
Etymology
From the surname of the character Leonard Zelig from the 1983 film Zelig who meets many famous people in the 1920s and 1930s and, apparently out of his desire to fit in and be liked, unwittingly takes on the characteristics of the strong personalities around him.
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 “Zelig”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is Z-E-L-I-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈzɛlɪɡ/ (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.