arraign
/əˈɹeɪn/
"arraign" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“arraign” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To officially charge someone in a court of law.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | arraign |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /əˈɹeɪn/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “arraign” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
arraign is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /əˈɹeɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for arraign in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English areynen (“to interrogate, arraign, reprimand”), from Anglo-Norman areiner, arener, from Old French araisnier, areisnier, aresnier (“to speak to, address; accuse (in a law court)”) (whence modern French arraisonner (“to verify cargo, to a… The correct English form is arraign, spelled A-R-R-A-I-G-N.
Definition
- 1To officially charge someone in a court of law.
- 2To call to account, or accuse, before the bar of reason, taste, or any other tribunal.
Etymology
From Middle English areynen (“to interrogate, arraign, reprimand”), from Anglo-Norman areiner, arener, from Old French araisnier, areisnier, aresnier (“to speak to, address; accuse (in a law court)”) (whence modern French arraisonner (“to verify cargo, to arraign”)), from Vulgar Latin *arratiōnāre, from Latin adratiōnāre, from ad (“to”) + *ratiōnāre (“to reason, talk reasonably, talk”), from ratiō (“reason, reasoning, discourse”), from rat-, past-participle stem of rērī (“to reckon, calculate”). First attested in the late 14th century. Doublet of areason. About the -g- within the word, Etymonline and the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary both agree that it is present by hypercorrection and appears since the 16th century. The Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) and the Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology (1986) however, provides two etymological links each, which are Old French aragnier and araigner. The Oxford English Dictionary (1885, 1989) did not support either of these hypotheses, but did attribute Old French arraigner, arainer to an unrelated obsolete sense and etymon.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “arraign”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-R-R-A-I-G-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /əˈɹeɪn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.