cockle

/ˈkɒkl̩/

//ˈkɒkl̩// noun

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

"cockle" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cockle” is uncommon English (frequency #63,514 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#63,514
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of various edible European bivalve mollusks, of the family Cardiidae, having heart-shaped shells.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cockle · cockle · English

cockle · rank #63,514 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #63,514
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH codebase

Nearest frequency peer: codebase (+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 “cockle”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cockle
PropertyValue
Headwordcockle
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɒkl̩/
Letters6
Frequency rank#63,514
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cockle” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).cocklefalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “codebase” (#63,515), “coalfield” (#63,512), “cohesiveness” (#63,516). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cockle” is #63,514. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cockle is uncommon English at frequency #63,514 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkɒkl̩/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 9 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for cockle, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English cokel, cokkel, kokkel, cocle, of uncertain origin. Perhaps a diminutive of Middle English cokke, cok (“cockle”), from Old English cocc (found in sǣcocc (“cockle”)) + -le; or perhaps from Old French coquille, from Vulgar Latin *cocchilia,… The correct English form is cockle, spelled C-O-C-K-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of various edible European bivalve mollusks, of the family Cardiidae, having heart-shaped shells.
  2. 2
    The shell of such a mollusk.
  3. 3
    A wrinkle, pucker
  4. 4
    A defect in sheepskin; firm dark nodules caused by the bites of keds on live sheep
  5. 5
    Chiefly in cockles of someone's heart: a person's innermost feelings.
  6. 6
    The dome of a heating furnace.
  7. 7
    The fire chamber of a furnace.
  8. 8
    A kiln for drying hops; an oast.
  9. 9
    The mineral black tourmaline or schorl.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. His wife, a small woman who walked always on high heels, borrowed Gerhardie's primus stove several times a day to cook her husband gargantuan meals of cockles, mussels, snails, and other such unpalatables.

Etymology

From Middle English cokel, cokkel, kokkel, cocle, of uncertain origin. Perhaps a diminutive of Middle English cokke, cok (“cockle”), from Old English cocc (found in sǣcocc (“cockle”)) + -le; or perhaps from Old French coquille, from Vulgar Latin *cocchilia, from conchylia, from Ancient Greek κογχύλιον (konkhúlion), diminutive of κογχύλη (konkhúlē, “mussel”), of Pre-Greek substrate origin.

This word in other languages

berberecho(Español)coque(Français)berbigão(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 "cockle"?
"cockle" is spelled C-O-C-K-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɒkl̩/.
What does "cockle" mean?
As a noun, "cockle" means: Any of various edible European bivalve mollusks, of the family Cardiidae, having heart-shaped shells.
How do you pronounce "cockle"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cockle" is /ˈkɒkl̩/. 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 "cockle"?
From Middle English cokel, cokkel, kokkel, cocle, of uncertain origin. Perhaps a diminutive of Middle English cokke, cok (“cockle”), from Old English cocc (found in sǣcocc (“cockle”)) + -le; or perhaps from Old French coquille, from Vulgar Latin *... 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 "cockle", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Callen#63,488dasher#63,545brawny#63,477Branco#63,475

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list