brogue
/ˈbɹəʊ̯ɡ/
"brogue" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“brogue” is uncommon English (frequency #67,284 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #67,284
- frequency rank, English
- 4,121
- “B” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A strong dialectal accent, usually Irish or Scottish.
Corpus desk
Index EN-brogue · brogue · English
brogue · rank #67,284 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #67,284
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,121
- PHOTO-FINISH broadsword
Nearest frequency peer: broadsword (-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 “brogue”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- boult
boult
32,722 corpus weight
- broadsword
broadsword
32,718 corpus weight
- brogue
brogue
32,717 corpus weight
- buffeted
buffeted
32,715 corpus weight
- Buttigieg
Buttigieg
32,713 corpus weight
- cannibalist…
cannibalistic
32,707 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “brogue” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | brogue |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbɹəʊ̯ɡ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #67,284 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “brogue” in English
Rare enough to double-check
brogue is uncommon English at frequency #67,284 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈbɹəʊ̯ɡ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for brogue in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Irish bróg (“boot, shoe”), from Old Irish bróc (“shoe, greave, legging, hose, breeches”), likely from Old Norse brók (“breeches”), from Proto-Germanic *brōks (“breeches”). The "accent" sense may instead be derived from Irish barróg (“a hold (o… The correct English form is brogue, spelled B-R-O-G-U-E.
Definition
- 1A strong dialectal accent, usually Irish or Scottish.
- 2A strong Oxford shoe, with ornamental perforations and wing tips.
- 3A heavy shoe of untanned leather.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how brogue appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
I had no doubt he knew where I was from, for I had the brogue, although not much of it.
“No-man's-land.” The words were spoken in a deep voice filled with salt water and brogue.
Etymology
Borrowed from Irish bróg (“boot, shoe”), from Old Irish bróc (“shoe, greave, legging, hose, breeches”), likely from Old Norse brók (“breeches”), from Proto-Germanic *brōks (“breeches”). The "accent" sense may instead be derived from Irish barróg (“a hold (on the tongue)”).
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "brogue", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).