# earl vs ell

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### earl
*noun · IPA /ɜːl/ · frequency rank #5,322*
A British or Irish nobleman next in rank above a viscount and below a marquess; equivalent to a European count. A female using the style is termed a countess.

### ell
*noun · IPA /ˈɛl/ · frequency rank #29,255*
A measure of length. An English ell was 1¼ yards (45 inches or 114 cm), a Scottish ell was about 37 inches (94 cm), a Flemish ell was ¾ yard (27 inches or 69 cm), while certain European ells were less than 50 cm.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-09-02.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/earl-vs-ell