auk
/ɔːk/
"auk" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“auk” is uncommon English (frequency #68,837 among 35,202 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #68,837
- frequency rank, English
- 35,202
- “A” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of several species of Arctic sea birds of the family Alcidae.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | auk |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɔːk/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #68,837 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “auk” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
auk is uncommon English at frequency #68,837 among 35,202 “A” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ɔːk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Any of several species of Arctic sea birds of the family Alcidae.".
auk doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Icelandic álka, from Old Norse alka (“auk”), from Proto-Germanic *alkǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁el- (“a kind of bird”). Cognate with Swedish alka (“auk”), Norwegian and Danish alke (“auk”), Swedish dialectal alla (“long-tailed duck”) (Clangula hyem… The correct English form is auk, spelled A-U-K.
Definition
- 1Any of several species of Arctic sea birds of the family Alcidae.
Etymology
From Icelandic álka, from Old Norse alka (“auk”), from Proto-Germanic *alkǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁el- (“a kind of bird”). Cognate with Swedish alka (“auk”), Norwegian and Danish alke (“auk”), Swedish dialectal alla (“long-tailed duck”) (Clangula hyemalis, syn. Fuligula glacialis), Latin olor (“swan”), Ancient Greek ἐλέα (eléa, “marsh-bird”), Welsh alarch (“swan”).
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); 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
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Using “auk”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-U-K - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɔːk/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.