aileron

/ˈeɪləɹɒn/

//ˈeɪləɹɒn// noun

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

"aileron" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“aileron” is uncommon English (frequency #81,085 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#81,085
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The hinged part on the trailing edge of an airplane wing, used to control longitudinal turns.

Corpus desk

Index EN-aileron · aileron · English

aileron · rank #81,085 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #81,085
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH agriculturally

Nearest frequency peer: agriculturally (-1 rank slots)

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.

Long-tail ranks near “aileron”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “aileron” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for aileron
PropertyValue
Headwordaileron
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈeɪləɹɒn/
Letters7
Frequency rank#81,085
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “aileron” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).aileronfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “agriculturally” (#81,084), “Airey” (#81,086), “Akiva” (#81,087). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “aileron” is #81,085. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

aileron is uncommon English at frequency #81,085 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈeɪləɹɒn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for aileron, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French aileron, diminutive of aile (“wing”), also refers to the extremities of a bird's wings used to control their flight. It first appeared in print in the 7th edition of Cassell's French-English Dictionary of 1877, with its lead meaning of … The correct English form is aileron, spelled A-I-L-E-R-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The hinged part on the trailing edge of an airplane wing, used to control longitudinal turns.
  2. 2
    A half gable, as at the end of a penthouse or of the aisle of a church.

Etymology

Borrowed from French aileron, diminutive of aile (“wing”), also refers to the extremities of a bird's wings used to control their flight. It first appeared in print in the 7th edition of Cassell's French-English Dictionary of 1877, with its lead meaning of "small wing". In the context of powered airplanes it appears in print about 1908, in the French aviation journal L'Aérophile.

This word in other languages

alerón(Español)aileron(Français)Querruder(Deutsch)

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "aileron"?
"aileron" is spelled A-I-L-E-R-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈeɪləɹɒn/.
What does "aileron" mean?
As a noun, "aileron" means: The hinged part on the trailing edge of an airplane wing, used to control longitudinal turns.
How do you pronounce "aileron"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "aileron" is /ˈeɪləɹɒn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "aileron"?
Borrowed from French aileron, diminutive of aile (“wing”), also refers to the extremities of a bird's wings used to control their flight. It first appeared in print in the 7th edition of Cassell's French-English Dictionary of 1877, with its lead m... See the full etymology section above for more details.
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 English words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

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

adenoma#81,079Adaline#81,078amanita#81,101ambling#81,102

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list