brigand

/ˈbɹɪɡ.ənd/

//ˈbɹɪɡ.ənd// noun

"brigand" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“brigand” is uncommon English (frequency #75,679 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#75,679
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An outlaw or bandit.

Corpus desk

Index EN-brigand · brigand · English

brigand · rank #75,679 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #75,679
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH Brion

Nearest frequency peer: Brion (+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 “brigand”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for brigand
PropertyValue
Headwordbrigand
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbɹɪɡ.ənd/
Letters7
Frequency rank#75,679
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “brigand” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).brigandfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Brion” (#75,680), “bristly” (#75,681), “broadleaf” (#75,682). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “brigand” is #75,679. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

brigand is uncommon English at frequency #75,679 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈbɹɪɡ.ənd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An outlaw or bandit.".

brigand doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English brigaunt, bregaund circa 1400, from Old French brigand (“foot soldier”) attested from 1421, from Italian briga (“trouble, bother”), perhaps ultimately of Proto-Germanic or Celtic origin. The correct English form is brigand, spelled B-R-I-G-A-N-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    An outlaw or bandit.

Etymology

From Middle English brigaunt, bregaund circa 1400, from Old French brigand (“foot soldier”) attested from 1421, from Italian briga (“trouble, bother”), perhaps ultimately of Proto-Germanic or Celtic origin.

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

How do you spell "brigand"?
"brigand" is spelled B-R-I-G-A-N-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɹɪɡ.ənd/.
What does "brigand" mean?
As a noun, "brigand" means: An outlaw or bandit.
How do you pronounce "brigand"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "brigand" is /ˈbɹɪɡ.ənd/. 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 "brigand"?
From Middle English brigaunt, bregaund circa 1400, from Old French brigand (“foot soldier”) attested from 1421, from Italian briga (“trouble, bother”), perhaps ultimately of Proto-Germanic or Celtic origin. 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 "brigand", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list