bracken
/ˈbɹækən/noun
bracken is spelled B-R-A-C-K-E-N: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,943rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, bracken means “Any of several coarse ferns, of the genus Pteridium, that form dense thickets; often poisonous to livestock” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of bracken is brackens.
How many letters and syllables are in bracken?
| Letters | 7: B-R-A-C-K-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 37,943rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is bracken?
Bracken appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,943rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce bracken?
- /ˈbɹækən/
Bracken has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-bracken.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of bracken
- brackens plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bracken mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of several coarse ferns, of the genus Pteridium, that form dense thickets; often poisonous to livestock.
- 2
An area of countryside heavily populated by this fern.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bracken in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense any of several coarse ferns:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ptéridium |
| German | Adlerfarne |
| Portuguese | feto-águia |
| Spanish | helecho |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does bracken come from?
From Middle English braken, probably of Scandinavian/North Germanic origin, from Old Norse *brakni (“undergrowth”), related to Proto-Germanic *brekaną and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- (“to break”). Cognates include Danish bregne and Swedish bräken (“fern”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).