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coffer

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

6 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "coffer", 6-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "coffer" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "coffer" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

coffer is aEnglishnoun. It means: A strong chest or box used for keeping money or valuables safe. Pronounced /ˈkɒfə/.

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Key facts for coffer
PropertyValue
Headwordcoffer
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɒfə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#76,654
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of coffer in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for coffer is 6 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkɒfə/. Corpus data places it at rank #76,654 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No frequent misspelling variants are recorded for coffer in our index, suggesting the orthography either follows predictable English patterns or the word is uncommon enough that typo corpora lack signal.It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English cofre, coffre, from Old French cofre, coffre, from Latin cophinus (“basket”), from Ancient Greek κόφινος (kóphinos, “basket”). Doublet of coffin. Cognate with German Koffer (“a suitcase”). Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is coffer, spelled C-O-F-F-E-R, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A strong chest or box used for keeping money or valuables safe.
  2. 2
    An ornamental sunken panel in a ceiling or dome.
  3. 3
    A cofferdam.
  4. 4
    A supply or store of money, often belonging to an organization.
  5. 5
    A trench dug in the bottom of a dry moat, and extending across it, to enable the besieged to defend it with raking fire.

Etymology

From Middle English cofre, coffre, from Old French cofre, coffre, from Latin cophinus (“basket”), from Ancient Greek κόφινος (kóphinos, “basket”). Doublet of coffin. Cognate with German Koffer (“a suitcase”).

This word in other languages

Frequency rank: #76,654 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "coffer"?
"coffer" is spelled C-O-F-F-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɒfə/.
What does "coffer" mean?
As a noun, "coffer" means: A strong chest or box used for keeping money or valuables safe.
How do you pronounce "coffer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "coffer" is /ˈkɒfə/. 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 "coffer"?
From Middle English cofre, coffre, from Old French cofre, coffre, from Latin cophinus (“basket”), from Ancient Greek κόφινος (kóphinos, “basket”). Doublet of coffin. Cognate with German Koffer (“a suitcase”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
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Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter C in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.