Barnstaple
/ˈbɑː(ɹ)nstəpəɫ/
"barnstaple" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Barnstaple” is uncommon English (frequency #68,851 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #68,851
- frequency rank, English
- 4,121
- “B” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A town and civil parish with a town council in North Devon district, Devon, England (OS grid ref SS5633).
Corpus desk
Index EN-barnstaple · Barnstaple · English
Barnstaple · rank #68,851 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #68,851
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,121
- PHOTO-FINISH Barbadian
Nearest frequency peer: Barbadian (-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 “Barnstaple”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- Bandera
Bandera
31,155 corpus weight
- Bangui
Bangui
31,154 corpus weight
- Bannockburn
Bannockburn
31,153 corpus weight
- Barbadian
Barbadian
31,151 corpus weight
- Barnstaple
Barnstaple
31,150 corpus weight
- bassinet
bassinet
31,146 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “Barnstaple” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Barnstaple |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈbɑː(ɹ)nstəpəɫ/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #68,851 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “Barnstaple” in English
Rare enough to double-check
Barnstaple is uncommon English at frequency #68,851 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /ˈbɑː(ɹ)nstəpəɫ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A town and civil parish with a town council in North Devon district, Devon, England (OS grid ref SS5633).".
Zero misspellings are on record for Barnstaple in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. 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: Formerly Barnstable; the name is first recorded in the 10th century and is believed to derive from the Old English bearde (“battle-axe”) and stapol (“pillar”). Not related to staple in the sense of a market, which arose later. The correct English form is Barnstaple, spelled B-A-R-N-S-T-A-P-L-E.
Definition
- 1A town and civil parish with a town council in North Devon district, Devon, England (OS grid ref SS5633).
Etymology
Formerly Barnstable; the name is first recorded in the 10th century and is believed to derive from the Old English bearde (“battle-axe”) and stapol (“pillar”). Not related to staple in the sense of a market, which arose later.
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Barnstaple", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).