cockerel

/ˈkɒkəɹəl/

//ˈkɒkəɹəl// noun

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

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

The verdict

“cockerel” is uncommon English (frequency #62,058 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#62,058
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A young male chicken.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cockerel · cockerel · English

cockerel · rank #62,058 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #62,058
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cobblers

Nearest frequency peer: cobblers (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “cockerel”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “cockerel” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cockerel
PropertyValue
Headwordcockerel
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɒkəɹəl/
Letters8
Frequency rank#62,058
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “cockerel” sits in English frequency

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “cobblers” (#62,057), “comely” (#62,060), “CND” (#62,055). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cockerel is uncommon English at frequency #62,058 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkɒkəɹəl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A young male chicken.".

No misspelling variants are generated for cockerel in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English kokerel. By surface analysis, cock + -rel. The correct English form is cockerel, spelled C-O-C-K-E-R-E-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A young male chicken.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how cockerel appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. “Mrs. Boast can’t have got all these from one hatching,” [Ma] said. “I do believe there’s not more than two cockerels among them.” “The Boasts have got such a head-start with chickens, likely they’re planning to eat friers this summer,” said Pa. “It may be she took a few cockerels out of this flock, looking on them as meat.”
  2. He had made arrangements with the cockerel to call him three-quarters of an hour earlier in the mornings instead of half an hour.

Etymology

From Middle English kokerel. By surface analysis, cock + -rel.

This word in other languages

gallo(Español)coquelet(Français)Hähnchen(Deutsch)frango(Português)

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 "cockerel"?
"cockerel" is spelled C-O-C-K-E-R-E-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɒkəɹəl/.
What does "cockerel" mean?
As a noun, "cockerel" means: A young male chicken.
How do you pronounce "cockerel"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cockerel" is /ˈkɒkəɹəl/. 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 "cockerel"?
From Middle English kokerel. By surface analysis, cock + -rel. 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 "cockerel", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

cobblers#62,057clitoral#62,053Cranford#62,074charades#62,041

What to do next

You've looked up "cockerel". Here's where to go from here.

  • Usage frequency rank #62,058 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "C" letter cohort. C–Z browse
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PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list