macumba

/mɐ.ˈkũ.bɐ/

//mɐ.ˈkũ.bɐ// noun

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

The verdict

“macumba” has 10 generated spelling variants in the Portuguese index at frequency #43,520. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#43,520
frequency rank, Portuguese
1,087
“M” headwords
10
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - antigo instrumento de percussão de origem africana, espécie de canzá que consistia num tubo de taquara com cortes transversais onde se friccionavam duas varetas, e que era outrora usado em terreiro...

Corpus desk

Index PT-macumba · macumba · Portuguese

macumba · rank #43,520 · 10 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #43,520
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,087
  • PHOTO-FINISH manivela

Nearest frequency peer: manivela (+8 rank slots)

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.

Pares de rank junto ao íman ortográfico “macumba”

Mesma faixa de raridade: útil se um typo cair num lema vizinho

corpus weight

What this shows “macumba” está entre estes pares FrequencyWords; a profundidade de typo mede-se à parte no gráfico de distância de edição.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for macumba
PropertyValue
Headwordmacumba
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechNoun
IPA/mɐ.ˈkũ.bɐ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#43,520
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequência do íman ortográfico “macumba”

Da esquerda para a direita: o pouco que carrega a fala diária, depois a cauda longa quase invisível.macumbacai aqui:

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

A escala é logarítmica (cada marca ≈ 10× mais rara). Na mesma faixa de raridade aparecem “manivela” (#43,528), “mogno” (#43,542), “internal” (#43,494). Entre 1,087 lemas com “M”, “macumba” fica em #43,520. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around macumba (IPA /mɐ.ˈkũ.bɐ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #43,520 among 1,087 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for macumba, with forms such as "amcumba", "maccumba", and "macmuba". 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.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct Portuguese form is macumba, spelled M-A-C-U-M-B-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    antigo instrumento de percussão de origem africana, espécie de canzá que consistia num tubo de taquara com cortes transversais onde se friccionavam duas varetas, e que era outrora usado em terreiros de cultos afro-brasileiros
  2. 2
    designação genérica dos cultos afro-brasileiros originários do nagô e que receberam influências de outras religiões africanas (por exemplo, de Angola e do Congo), e também ameríndias, católicas, espíritas e ocultistas
  3. 3
    o ritual celebrado nesses cultos
  4. 4
    (Derivação: por extensão de sentido) designação leiga dos cultos afro-brasileiros em geral (e seus rituais respectivos)
  5. 5
    (Derivação: por extensão de sentido) designação leiga dos cultos afro-brasileiros em geral (e seus rituais respectivos)
  6. 6
    (Derivação: por metonímia) oferenda a Exu, especialmente nas encruzilhadas; despacho
  7. 7
    (Derivação: por extensão de sentido) em sentido lato, magia negra, feitiçaria; feitiço, despacho
  8. 8
    em terreiros do Nordeste do Brasil, excremento
  9. 9
    ousadia, audácia
  10. 10
    no início do século XX, filha-de-santo da nação cabinda

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Obs.: confira quimbanda
  2. Até macumba já fizeram para (ou contra) ele.

Synonyms

feitiço

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • amcumba
  • maccumba
  • macmuba
  • macubma
  • macumab
  • macumbba
  • macummba
  • maucmba
  • mcaumba
  • mmacumba

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of macumba - 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.

amcumba2maccumba1macmuba2macubma2macumab2macumbba1macummba1maucmba2
Edit distance from "macumba"

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "macumba"?
"macumba" is spelled M-A-C-U-M-B-A. The IPA pronunciation is /mɐ.ˈkũ.bɐ/.
What does "macumba" mean?
As a noun, "macumba" means: antigo instrumento de percussão de origem africana, espécie de canzá que consistia num tubo de taquara com cortes transversais onde se friccionavam duas varetas, e que era outrora usado em terreiro...
What are common misspellings of "macumba"?
Common misspellings include "amcumba", "maccumba", "macmuba", "macubma", "macumab". The correct spelling is "macumba".
How do you pronounce "macumba"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "macumba" is /mɐ.ˈkũ.bɐ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "macumba" come from?
"macumba" is a Portuguese 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.

Similar Portuguese words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "macumba", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

ibérico#43,476palmela#43,573gestual#43,449folgado#43,431

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

desterro10 variantstangará10 variantstribuno10 variantscivismo10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list