English Word Reference Free

coral

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

5 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

open dictionary

Access

Free

no sign-up needed

Detailed reference entry for the English word "coral", 5-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 "coral" 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 "coral" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

coral is aEnglishnoun. It means: Any of many species of marine invertebrates in the class Anthozoa, most of which build hard calcium carbonate skeletons and form colonies, or a colony belonging to one of those species. Pronounced /ˈkɒɹəl/. It ranks #8,770 in English word frequency. Often confused with core and crap.

Key facts for coral
PropertyValue
Headwordcoral
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɒɹəl/
Letters5
Frequency rank#8,770
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of coral in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for coral is 5 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkɒɹəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #8,770 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 6 documented wrong-spelling variants for coral, with forms such as "ccoral", "coarl", and "corall". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "core", "crap", "corn", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French coral (French corail), from Latin corallium, from Ancient Greek κοράλλιον (korállion, “coral”). Probably ultimately of Semitic origin, compare Hebrew גּוֹרָל (goral, “small pebble”), Arabic جَرَل (jaral, “small stone”), originally referring … 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 coral, spelled C-O-R-A-L, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of many species of marine invertebrates in the class Anthozoa, most of which build hard calcium carbonate skeletons and form colonies, or a colony belonging to one of those species.
  2. 2
    A hard substance made of the skeletons of these organisms.
  3. 3
    A somewhat yellowish orange-pink color; the color of red coral (Corallium rubrum) of the Mediterranean Sea, commonly used as an ornament or gem.
  4. 4
    The ovaries of a cooked lobster; so called from their color.
  5. 5
    A piece of coral, usually fitted with small bells and other appurtenances, used by children as a plaything.

Etymology

From Old French coral (French corail), from Latin corallium, from Ancient Greek κοράλλιον (korállion, “coral”). Probably ultimately of Semitic origin, compare Hebrew גּוֹרָל (goral, “small pebble”), Arabic جَرَل (jaral, “small stone”), originally referring to the red variety found in the Mediterranean. Since ancient times, a common folk etymology, accepted by some earlier scholars, connected the word instead to Ancient Greek κόρη (kórē) (referring to Medusa). Beekes mentions both theories and considers the Semitic one convincing.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ccoral,coarl,corall,corla,croal,ocral

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for coral

Misspelling Variants of "coral"

ccoral6coarl5corall6corla5croal5ocral5
Misspelling Variants of "coral"

Frequency rank: #8,770 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "coral"?
"coral" is spelled C-O-R-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɒɹəl/.
What does "coral" mean?
As a noun, "coral" means: Any of many species of marine invertebrates in the class Anthozoa, most of which build hard calcium carbonate skeletons and form colonies, or a colony belonging to one of those species.
What words are commonly confused with "coral"?
"coral" is commonly confused with "core", "crap", "corn". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "coral"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "coral" is /ˈkɒɹəl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "coral"?
From Old French coral (French corail), from Latin corallium, from Ancient Greek κοράλλιον (korállion, “coral”). Probably ultimately of Semitic origin, compare Hebrew גּוֹרָל (goral, “small pebble”), Arabic جَرَل (jaral, “small stone”), originally ... 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter C in our English index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.