cail
verb
cail is spelled C-A-I-L: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 37 million words in written English, the 187,122nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, cail means “To throw, pelt; to throw weakly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in cail?
| Letters | 4: C-A-I-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 37 million words; the 187,122nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is cail?
Cail appears about once in every 37 million words in written English, the 187,122nd 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 cail?
Cail has one syllable (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).
What rhymes with cail?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as cail.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: laic.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of cail
- cails present, singular, he/she/it
- cailing participle, present
- cailed participle, past
- cale
- kail
- kale
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cail mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To throw, pelt; to throw weakly.
- 2
To tilt up or turn over in order to discharge a load.
- 3
To move awkwardly or uncertainly; to gambol, kick out one's heels like a colt.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does cail come from?
Unknown. Perhaps from or related to Middle English kayl (“a blow, stroke”). Compare Middle English quale (“death, destruction”), from Old English cwalu (“a quelling with weapons, torment, a violent death, slaughter, destruction”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).