colly
/ˈkɑli/adjective, noun
colly is spelled C-O-L-L-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 16 million words in written English, the 121,279th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, colly means “Black as coal” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in colly?
| Letters | 5: C-O-L-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 16 million words; the 121,279th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is colly?
Colly appears about once in every 16 million words in written English, the 121,279th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce colly?
- UK /ˈkɒli/
- US /ˈkɑli/
Colly has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-colly.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with colly
Sounds like: cauli, collie (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with colly?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as colly from its last stressed vowel (/ɑli/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of colly
- collier comparative
- colliest superlative
- collies present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- collying participle, present
- collied participle, past
- kelly
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does colly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
UKBlack as coal.
noun
- 1
UKSoot.
- 2
UKA blackbird
- 3
datedAlternative spelling of collie.
verb
- 1
archaicTo make black, as with coal.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does colly come from?
From Middle English coly, from Old English *coliġ, from Proto-West Germanic *kolig, equivalent to coal + -y. Doublet of coaly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).