alce
"alce" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“alce” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 4
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An elk.
Corpus desk
Index EN-alce · alce · English
alce · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-2 2 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 | alce |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 4 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “alce” in English
Rare enough to double-check
alce is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An elk.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for alce in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Latin alcē. Doublet of Alcis, Algiz, and elk. The correct English form is alce, spelled A-L-C-E.
Definition
- 1An elk.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how alce appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Alces, brought for the nonce out of the great wooddes of Germany.
His creaſt, the beaſt Alce pꝛoper, leaning to an Oke Vert, ſet on a toꝛce de Oꝛ and Gules, mantled Sable, doubled Oꝛ, ſuppoꝛted with a Beuer argent, coloured and vnguled Sable, and an Harpie Vert, Wynged de Oꝛ. The Alce diſcribed foꝛ the creaſt of the ſaid coate Armour, is a wilde Beaſte in the woods of Germany, in faſhion and ſkinne like to a fallowe Dée…
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin alcē. Doublet of Alcis, Algiz, and elk.
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.