brocade

/bɹəˈkeɪd/

//bɹəˈkeɪd// noun

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

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

The verdict

“brocade” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #45,244. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#45,244
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A thick heavy fabric into which raised patterns have been woven, originally in gold and silver; more recently any cloth incorporating raised, woven patterns.

Corpus desk

Index EN-brocade · brocade · English

brocade · rank #45,244 · 10 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #45,244
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH Brienne

Nearest frequency peer: Brienne (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “brocade”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “brocade” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

brocade vs bromide
71% similar
brocade vs broad
71% similar
brocade vs broader
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for brocade
PropertyValue
Headwordbrocade
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bɹəˈkeɪd/
Letters7
Frequency rank#45,244
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “brocade”

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).brocadelands here:

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “Brienne” (#45,243), “braved” (#45,242), “BTU” (#45,246). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “brocade” is #45,244. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around brocade (IPA /bɹəˈkeɪd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #45,244 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for brocade, with forms such as "bbrocade", "borcade", and "brcoade". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "bromide", "broad", "broader", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Occitan brocada and Spanish and Portuguese brocado, influenced by French brocart, from Italian broccato, from brocco, ultimately from Gaulish. The correct English form is brocade, spelled B-R-O-C-A-D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A thick heavy fabric into which raised patterns have been woven, originally in gold and silver; more recently any cloth incorporating raised, woven patterns.
  2. 2
    An item decorated with brocade.
  3. 3
    Any of several species of noctuid moths such as some species in the genera Calophasia and Hadena
  4. 4
    A decorative pattern.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Madame Legarde, the "glass of fashion and the nurse of form," (alias the most fashionable of milliners,) has comfortably assured me, "that my figure has great merit, and only requires cultivation:" this is to be done by tissues, brocades, and laces, which are now scattered round me in charming confusion.
  2. … his desire to stand in brocade and sing Rhadames in Aida was like my eagerness to go far, far beyond fellow intellectuals of my generation who had lost the imaginative soul.

Etymology

From Occitan brocada and Spanish and Portuguese brocado, influenced by French brocart, from Italian broccato, from brocco, ultimately from Gaulish.

This word in other languages

bordado(Español)brocart(Français)Brokat(Deutsch)brocado(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbrocade
  • borcade
  • brcoade
  • broacde
  • brocadde
  • brocaed
  • broccade
  • brocdae
  • brrocade
  • rbocade

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of brocade - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

bbrocade1borcade2brcoade2broacde2brocadde1brocaed2broccade1brocdae2
Edit distance from "brocade"

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 "brocade"?
"brocade" is spelled B-R-O-C-A-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is /bɹəˈkeɪd/.
What does "brocade" mean?
As a noun, "brocade" means: A thick heavy fabric into which raised patterns have been woven, originally in gold and silver; more recently any cloth incorporating raised, woven patterns.
What words are commonly confused with "brocade"?
"brocade" is commonly confused with "bromide", "broad", "broader". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "brocade"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "brocade" is /bɹəˈkeɪd/. 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 "brocade"?
From Occitan brocada and Spanish and Portuguese brocado, influenced by French brocart, from Italian broccato, from brocco, ultimately from Gaulish. 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 "brocade", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Brienne#45,243blankly#45,235bitrate#45,233bighorn#45,229

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

barreled10 variantschucks10 variantscloseup10 variantsAngolan10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list