caracal
/ˈkæ.ɹəˌkæl/
"caracal" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“caracal” is uncommon English (frequency #95,795 among 43,570 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #95,795
- frequency rank, English
- 43,570
- “C” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A type of cat native to Southern Africa, West Asia, and parts of Central and South Asia, Caracal caracal.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | caracal |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkæ.ɹəˌkæl/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #95,795 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “caracal” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
caracal is uncommon English at frequency #95,795 among 43,570 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkæ.ɹəˌkæl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A type of cat native to Southern Africa, West Asia, and parts of Central and South Asia, Caracal caracal.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for caracal in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French caracal, from Ottoman Turkish قره قولاق (kara kulak, literally “black ear”), a calque of Classical Persian سیاهگوش (siyāh-gōš). Compare modern Turkish karakulak. The correct English form is caracal, spelled C-A-R-A-C-A-L.
Definition
- 1A type of cat native to Southern Africa, West Asia, and parts of Central and South Asia, Caracal caracal.
Etymology
From French caracal, from Ottoman Turkish قره قولاق (kara kulak, literally “black ear”), a calque of Classical Persian سیاهگوش (siyāh-gōš). Compare modern Turkish karakulak.
Synonyms
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 “caracal”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-A-R-A-C-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkæ.ɹəˌkæl/ (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.