console
Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.
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7 characters
Language
English
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Detailed reference entry for the English word "console", 7-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 "console" 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 "console" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.
console is aEnglishnoun. It means: A stand-alone cabinet designed to stand on the floor; especially, one integrated with home entertainment equipment, such as a TV or stereo system. Pronounced /ˈkɒn.səʊl/. It ranks #6,227 in English word frequency. Often confused with consul and consume.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | console |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkɒn.səʊl/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #6,227 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency rank visualization
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for console is 7 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkɒn.səʊl/. Corpus data places it at rank #6,227 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 10 documented wrong-spelling variants for console, with forms such as "cconsole", "cnosole", and "connsole". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "consul", "consume", "consult", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French console (“bracket”, noun), from consoler (“to console, to comfort”, verb). Sense of “bracket” either due to a bracket alleviating the load, or due to brackets being decorated with the Christian figure of a consolateur (“consoler”), itse… 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 console, spelled C-O-N-S-O-L-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1A stand-alone cabinet designed to stand on the floor; especially, one integrated with home entertainment equipment, such as a TV or stereo system.
- 2A desk-like cabinet, table, or stand upon which controls, instruments, and displays are mounted.
- 3An instrument with displays and an input device that is used to monitor and control an electronic system.
- 4An instrument with displays and an input device that is used to monitor and control an electronic system.
- 5An instrument with displays and an input device that is used to monitor and control an electronic system.
- 6A storage tray or container mounted between the seats of an automobile.
- 7An ornamental member jutting out of a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, often S-shaped.
- 8A cantilever.
- 9A decorative frame or support (in architecture, drawings, etc) around a heraldic shield.
Etymology
Borrowed from French console (“bracket”, noun), from consoler (“to console, to comfort”, verb). Sense of “bracket” either due to a bracket alleviating the load, or due to brackets being decorated with the Christian figure of a consolateur (“consoler”), itself perhaps a pun on the first sense (alleviating load). Originally used for the bracket itself, then for wall-mounted tables (mounted with a bracket), then for free-standing tables placed against a wall. Use for control system dates at least to 1880s for an “organ console”; use for electrical or electronic control systems dates at least to 1930s in radio, television, and system control, particularly as “mixer console” or “control console”, attached to an equipment rack. This was popularized in computers by mainframes such as the IBM 704 (1954) in terms such as “operator’s console” or “console typewriter”, and then generalized to any attached equipment, particularly for user interaction. The automotive sense harks back to earlier use as “support”.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: cconsole,cnosole,connsole,conosle,consloe,consoel,consolle,conssole,cosnole,ocnsole
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
Relative frequency of common misspelling types for console
Misspelling Variants of "console"
Frequency rank: #6,227 in English
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Nearby English words
Other entries that begin with the letter C in our English index: