brogue
/ˈbɹəʊ̯ɡ/
"brogue" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“brogue” is uncommon English (frequency #67,284 among 31,241 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #67,284
- frequency rank, English
- 31,241
- “B” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A strong dialectal accent, usually Irish or Scottish.
| 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) |
Where “brogue” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
brogue is uncommon English at frequency #67,284 among 31,241 “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.
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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Using “brogue”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-R-O-G-U-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈbɹəʊ̯ɡ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.