# ell vs erg

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### 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.

### erg
*noun · IPA /ɜːɡ/ · frequency rank #48,222*
A unit of work or energy, being the amount of work done by a force of one dyne applied through a distance of one centimeter. Equal to 10⁻⁷ joules.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ell-vs-erg