carillon

/ˈkɛɹɪˌlɑn/

//ˈkɛɹɪˌlɑn// noun

"carillon" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“carillon” is uncommon English (frequency #68,910 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#68,910
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A set of bells, often in a bell tower, sometimes operated by means of a keyboard (manual or pedal), originating from the Low Countries.

Corpus desk

Index EN-carillon · carillon · English

carillon · rank #68,910 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #68,910
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH careening

Nearest frequency peer: careening (-2 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 “carillon”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “carillon” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for carillon
PropertyValue
Headwordcarillon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɛɹɪˌlɑn/
Letters8
Frequency rank#68,910
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “carillon” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).carillonfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “careening” (#68,908), “cento” (#68,914), “calabash” (#68,905). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “carillon” is #68,910. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

carillon is uncommon English at frequency #68,910 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkɛɹɪˌlɑn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for carillon in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French carillon. The correct English form is carillon, spelled C-A-R-I-L-L-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A set of bells, often in a bell tower, sometimes operated by means of a keyboard (manual or pedal), originating from the Low Countries.
  2. 2
    A tune adapted to be played by musical bells.

Etymology

Borrowed from French carillon.

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

How do you spell "carillon"?
"carillon" is spelled C-A-R-I-L-L-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɛɹɪˌlɑn/.
What does "carillon" mean?
As a noun, "carillon" means: A set of bells, often in a bell tower, sometimes operated by means of a keyboard (manual or pedal), originating from the Low Countries.
How do you pronounce "carillon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "carillon" is /ˈkɛɹɪˌlɑn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "carillon"?
Borrowed from French carillon. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "carillon", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list