calque
/kælk/
"calque" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“calque” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A word or phrase in a language formed by word-for-word or morpheme-by-morpheme translation of a word in another language.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | calque |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /kælk/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “calque” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for calque is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kælk/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A word or phrase in a language formed by word-for-word or morpheme-by-morpheme translation of a word in another language.".
calque doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French calque (“calque”, literally “copy, tracing”), from calquer (“to copy, trace”) (whence also calk), itself borrowed from Italian calcare, from Latin calcāre (“to tread”). Doublet of calcate and calcation. The correct English form is calque, spelled C-A-L-Q-U-E.
Definition
- 1A word or phrase in a language formed by word-for-word or morpheme-by-morpheme translation of a word in another language.
Etymology
From French calque (“calque”, literally “copy, tracing”), from calquer (“to copy, trace”) (whence also calk), itself borrowed from Italian calcare, from Latin calcāre (“to tread”). Doublet of calcate and calcation.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “calque”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-A-L-Q-U-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /kælk/ (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
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.