coot
/kuːt/
"coot" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“coot” is an uncommon English word, ranked #52,870 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #52,870
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of various aquatic birds of the genus Fulica that are mainly black with a prominent frontal shield on the forehead.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | coot |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /kuːt/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #52,870 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “coot” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for coot is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kuːt/. Corpus data places it at rank #52,870 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for coot, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English cote, coote, cute, cuytt (“coot”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from an unrecorded Old English word, or borrowed from Middle Dutch coet, cuut, kuut (“coot”) (whence modern Dutch koet and meerkoet (“coot”)). Possibly related to Middle Hig… The correct English form is coot, spelled C-O-O-T.
Definition
- 1Any of various aquatic birds of the genus Fulica that are mainly black with a prominent frontal shield on the forehead.
- 2A foolish or eccentric fellow
Etymology
From Middle English cote, coote, cute, cuytt (“coot”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from an unrecorded Old English word, or borrowed from Middle Dutch coet, cuut, kuut (“coot”) (whence modern Dutch koet and meerkoet (“coot”)). Possibly related to Middle High German kūz, kūze (modern German Kauz (“owl”)), Old English cȳta (“kite, bittern”) (whence English kite), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kūts (“bird of prey”). See kite.
This word in other languages
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
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Using “coot”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-O-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /kuːt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.