sumac

\sy.mak\

/\sy.mak\/ noun

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

The verdict

“sumac” is uncommon French (frequency #71,938 among 394,209 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#71,938
frequency rank, French
394,209
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Nom donné à des arbres et des arbrisseaux à feuilles alternes, qui, bien que se ressemblant, appartiennent à des genres différents en particulier les genres Rhus, Toxicodendron et Cotinus, totalisa...

Key facts for sumac
PropertyValue
Headwordsumac
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\sy.mak\
Letters5
Frequency rank#71,938
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sumac” sits in French 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). sumac 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

sumac is uncommon French at frequency #71,938 among 394,209 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \sy.mak\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for sumac in our index, 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, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is sumac, spelled S-U-M-A-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Nom donné à des arbres et des arbrisseaux à feuilles alternes, qui, bien que se ressemblant, appartiennent à des genres différents en particulier les genres Rhus, Toxicodendron et Cotinus, totalisant environ 100 espèces différentes.
  2. 2
    Feuilles séchées et réduites en poudre du sumac des corroyeurs (Rhus coriaria), riches en gallotanins, et utilisées pour tanner les peaux.
  3. 3
    Drupes du sumac des corroyeurs (Rhus coriaria) réduites en poudre ; épice au goût acide, terreux et boisé, utilisée comme agent acidifiant en Iran, au Liban, en Syrie et en Turquie.

This word in other languages

sumac(English)zumaque(Español)

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sumac"?
"sumac" is spelled S-U-M-A-C. The IPA pronunciation is \sy.mak\.
What does "sumac" mean?
As a noun, "sumac" means: Nom donné à des arbres et des arbrisseaux à feuilles alternes, qui, bien que se ressemblant, appartiennent à des genres différents en particulier les genres Rhus, Toxicodendron et Cotinus, totalisa...
How do you pronounce "sumac"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sumac" is \sy.mak\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "sumac" come from?
"sumac" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “sumac”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is S-U-M-A-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \sy.mak\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Other uncommon French 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list