aubade

/əʊˈbɑːd/

//əʊˈbɑːd// noun

"aubade" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“aubade” 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 poem or song evoking or greeting the dawn or early morning.

Corpus desk

Index EN-aubade · aubade · English

aubade · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-4 4 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.

Key facts for aubade
PropertyValue
Headwordaubade
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əʊˈbɑːd/
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “aubade” in English

aubadefalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

aubade is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /əʊˈbɑːd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

aubade has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *albʰós Borrowed from French aubade, from Old French albade, from Old Spanish albada (“musical or poetic composition to be performed in the morning”), from alba (“dawn”), from Vulgar Latin *alba (“dawn; sunrise”), from Latin albus (“bright, clear;… The correct English form is aubade, spelled A-U-B-A-D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A poem or song evoking or greeting the dawn or early morning.
  2. 2
    A poem or song evoking or greeting the dawn or early morning.
  3. 3
    A concert held at dawn or in the morning, especially outdoors.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how aubade appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. And there he lingered till the crowing cock, / The Alectryon of the farmyard and the flock, / Sang his aubade with lusty voice and clear, / To tell the sleeping world that dawn was near.
  2. Alladad Khan woke to the far crying of kampong cocks in the dark. That noise had been the farmyard aubade in the Punjab in his dream.

Etymology

PIE word *albʰós Borrowed from French aubade, from Old French albade, from Old Spanish albada (“musical or poetic composition to be performed in the morning”), from alba (“dawn”), from Vulgar Latin *alba (“dawn; sunrise”), from Latin albus (“bright, clear; white”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *albʰós (“white”).

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

How do you spell "aubade"?
"aubade" is spelled A-U-B-A-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is /əʊˈbɑːd/.
What does "aubade" mean?
As a noun, "aubade" means: A poem or song evoking or greeting the dawn or early morning.
How do you pronounce "aubade"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "aubade" is /əʊˈbɑːd/. 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 "aubade"?
PIE word *albʰós Borrowed from French aubade, from Old French albade, from Old Spanish albada (“musical or poetic composition to be performed in the morning”), from alba (“dawn”), from Vulgar Latin *alba (“dawn; sunrise”), from Latin albus (“brig... 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list