cormorant
/ˈkɔːməɹənt/
"cormorant" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cormorant” is an uncommon English word, ranked #63,528 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #63,528
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of various medium-large black seabirds of the family Phalacrocoracidae which dive into water for fish and other aquatic animals, found throughout the world except for islands in the centre of t...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cormorant |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkɔːməɹənt/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #63,528 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “cormorant” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for cormorant is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkɔːməɹənt/. Corpus data places it at rank #63,528 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.
cormorant doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *ḱorh₂wós From Middle English cormeraunt (“great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo); other types of aquatic bird”) [and other forms], from Old French cormaran, cor-maraunt [and other forms] (modern French cormoran), possibly variants of *corp-marin, … The correct English form is cormorant, spelled C-O-R-M-O-R-A-N-T.
Definition
- 1Any of various medium-large black seabirds of the family Phalacrocoracidae which dive into water for fish and other aquatic animals, found throughout the world except for islands in the centre of the Pacific Ocean; specifically, the great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo).
- 2A voracious eater; also, a person who, or thing which, is aggressively greedy for wealth, etc.
Etymology
PIE word *ḱorh₂wós From Middle English cormeraunt (“great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo); other types of aquatic bird”) [and other forms], from Old French cormaran, cor-maraunt [and other forms] (modern French cormoran), possibly variants of *corp-marin, from Medieval Latin corvus marīnus (literally “sea-raven”), with the ending -morant possibly derived from French moran (“marine, maritime”), from Breton mor (“sea”), with -an corrupted in English to -ant. Latin corvus is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *ḱorh₂wós (“raven”), which is imitative of the harsh cry of the bird; while marīnus (“of or pertaining to the sea, marine”) is from Latin mare (“sea”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *móri (“sea; standing water”), possibly from *mer- (“sea; lake; wetland”)) + -īnus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’). Cognates * Catalan corbmari * Occitan corpmari * Portuguese corvomarinho
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 “cormorant”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-R-M-O-R-A-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkɔːməɹənt/ (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.