bowsprit
/ˈbəʊspɹɪt/
"bowsprit" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bowsprit” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel to provide the means of adding sail surface.
Corpus desk
Index EN-bowsprit · bowsprit · English
bowsprit · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "B" 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bowsprit |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbəʊspɹɪt/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “bowsprit” in English
Rare enough to double-check
bowsprit is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈbəʊspɹɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel to provide the means of adding sail surface.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for bowsprit, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in late 13th century. Probably borrowed from Middle Low German bochspret, from boch (“bow of a ship”) + spret (“pole”) (related to Old English spreot and English sprout). The correct English form is bowsprit, spelled B-O-W-S-P-R-I-T.
Definition
- 1A spar projecting over the prow of a sailing vessel to provide the means of adding sail surface.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how bowsprit appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
There lay the Ghost, bow on to the beach, her splintered bowsprit projecting over the sand, her tangled spars rubbing against her side to the lift of the crooning waves. Something must be done, must be done.
Etymology
First attested in late 13th century. Probably borrowed from Middle Low German bochspret, from boch (“bow of a ship”) + spret (“pole”) (related to Old English spreot and English sprout).
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.