coq

noun

"coq" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“coq” is uncommon English (frequency #50,439 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#50,439
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A trimming of cock feathers on a woman's hat.

Corpus desk

Index EN-coq · coq · English

coq · rank #50,439 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #50,439
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH copulation

Nearest frequency peer: copulation (-1 rank slots)

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.

Long-tail ranks near “coq”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “coq” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for coq
PropertyValue
Headwordcoq
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters3
Frequency rank#50,439
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “coq” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).coqfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “copulation” (#50,438), “coronet” (#50,440), “coniferous” (#50,436). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “coq” is #50,439. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

coq is uncommon English at frequency #50,439 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A trimming of cock feathers on a woman's hat.".

coq doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French. The correct English form is coq, spelled C-O-Q.

Definition

  1. 1
    A trimming of cock feathers on a woman's hat.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how coq appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. […] with a flat Tam crown of heliotrope velvet, a drapery under the brim, and two flat coq feathers.
  2. A smart all-black model has just arrived from Jeanne Due. It is turban-trimmed with black coq which forms a bow drape.

Etymology

From French.

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

How do you spell "coq"?
"coq" is spelled C-O-Q.
What does "coq" mean?
As a noun, "coq" means: A trimming of cock feathers on a woman's hat.
What is the origin of the word "coq"?
From French. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "coq", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list