bauble

[ˈbɔːbəɫ]

/[ˈbɔːbəɫ]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

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

The verdict

“bauble” is uncommon English (frequency #67,241 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#67,241
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A cheap showy ornament or piece of jewellery; a gewgaw.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bauble · bauble · English

bauble · rank #67,241 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #67,241
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH bathwater

Nearest frequency peer: bathwater (-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 “bauble”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “bauble” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for bauble
PropertyValue
Headwordbauble
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈbɔːbəɫ]
Letters6
Frequency rank#67,241
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “bauble” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).baublefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “bathwater” (#67,240), “bayt” (#67,242), “Bathgate” (#67,239). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bauble” is #67,241. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

bauble is uncommon English at frequency #67,241 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈbɔːbəɫ]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

bauble doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. 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: From Middle English bable, babel, babull, babulle, from Old French babel, baubel (“trinket, child's toy”), most likely a reduplication of bel, ultimately from Latin bellus (“pretty”). The correct English form is bauble, spelled B-A-U-B-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A cheap showy ornament or piece of jewellery; a gewgaw.
  2. 2
    Anything trivial and worthless.
  3. 3
    A small shiny spherical decoration, commonly put on Christmas trees.
  4. 4
    A club or sceptre carried by a jester.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. […] as to the bauble on which the chief proof rests, if she had earnestly desired it, I should have willingly given it to her, so much do I esteem and value her.
  2. Have none before or after him staked all their treasure of life, as a savage does his land and possessions against a draught of the fair-skins’ fire-water, or a couple of bauble eyes?

Etymology

From Middle English bable, babel, babull, babulle, from Old French babel, baubel (“trinket, child's toy”), most likely a reduplication of bel, ultimately from Latin bellus (“pretty”).

Synonyms

also: Thesaurus:trinket

This word in other languages

baratija(Español)babiole(Français)Modeschmuck(Deutsch)

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

How do you spell "bauble"?
"bauble" is spelled B-A-U-B-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈbɔːbəɫ].
What does "bauble" mean?
As a noun, "bauble" means: A cheap showy ornament or piece of jewellery; a gewgaw.
How do you pronounce "bauble"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bauble" is [ˈbɔːbəɫ]. 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 "bauble"?
From Middle English bable, babel, babull, babulle, from Old French babel, baubel (“trinket, child's toy”), most likely a reduplication of bel, ultimately from Latin bellus (“pretty”). 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "bauble", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Barham#67,236bemoan#67,251anther#67,218blakey#67,265

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list