achene
/əˈkiːn/
"achene" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“achene” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A small, dry, indehiscent fruit, containing a single seed, as in the buttercup.
Corpus desk
Index EN-achene · achene · English
achene · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "A" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | achene |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /əˈkiːn/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “achene” in English
Rare enough to double-check
achene is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /əˈkiːn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A small, dry, indehiscent fruit, containing a single seed, as in the buttercup.".
No misspelling variants are generated for achene in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French achène and its source, New Latin achena, from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-, “a-”) + χαίνω (khaínō, “to gape”). The correct English form is achene, spelled A-C-H-E-N-E.
Definition
- 1A small, dry, indehiscent fruit, containing a single seed, as in the buttercup.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how achene appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The mulberry puts forth its messy clusters of achenes.
Etymology
From French achène and its source, New Latin achena, from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-, “a-”) + χαίνω (khaínō, “to gape”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.