cavan

noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"cavan" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cavan” is uncommon English (frequency #51,014 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,014
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A unit of dry capacity approximately equivalent to 2.3 US bushels.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cavan · cavan · English

cavan · rank #51,014 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #51,014
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH carle

Nearest frequency peer: carle (-1 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 “cavan”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cavan
PropertyValue
Headwordcavan
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters5
Frequency rank#51,014
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cavan” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).cavanfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “carle” (#51,013), “caries” (#51,012), “cantaloupe” (#51,011). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cavan” is #51,014. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cavan is uncommon English at frequency #51,014 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for cavan, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Spanish caván, from Tagalog kaban as "Manila cavan", via Cebuano as the "provincial cavan". The correct English form is cavan, spelled C-A-V-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A unit of dry capacity approximately equivalent to 2.3 US bushels.
  2. 2
    A unit of dry capacity equivalent to one and a half times or twice the Manila cavan.
  3. 3
    A sackful equivalent to 50 kilograms.

Etymology

From Spanish caván, from Tagalog kaban as "Manila cavan", via Cebuano as the "provincial cavan".

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 "cavan"?
"cavan" is spelled C-A-V-A-N.
What does "cavan" mean?
As a noun, "cavan" means: A unit of dry capacity approximately equivalent to 2.3 US bushels.
What is the origin of the word "cavan"?
From Spanish caván, from Tagalog kaban as "Manila cavan", via Cebuano as the "provincial cavan". 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 "cavan", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

carle#51,013chomp#51,020brony#51,002borer#50,994

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list