copyleft
"copyleft" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“copyleft” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The philosophy of using copyrights to enforce freedom of information, especially software source code.
Corpus desk
Index EN-copyleft · copyleft · English
copyleft · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "C" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | copyleft |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “copyleft” in English
Rare enough to double-check
copyleft is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
copyleft doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: A pun on copyright, which refers to using copyright laws for purposes that are in some ways contrary to copyright's original intent. The correct English form is copyleft, spelled C-O-P-Y-L-E-F-T.
Definition
- 1The philosophy of using copyrights to enforce freedom of information, especially software source code.
- 2A software license that follows this philosophy.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how copyleft appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
They believe in copyleft because they want their software to be used freely by anyone.
I have placed my program under copyleft.
Etymology
A pun on copyright, which refers to using copyright laws for purposes that are in some ways contrary to copyright's original intent.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.