cornel

/ˈkɔːnəl/

//ˈkɔːnəl// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"cornel" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cornel” is uncommon English (frequency #62,798 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#62,798
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any tree or shrub of the dogwood subgenera, Cornus subg. Arctocrania (syn. Cornus subg. Chamaepericlymenum) or Cornus subg. Cornus, especially Cornus mas, the European cornel.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cornel · cornel · English

cornel · rank #62,798 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #62,798
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH coppa

Nearest frequency peer: coppa (-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 “cornel”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cornel
PropertyValue
Headwordcornel
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɔːnəl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#62,798
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cornel” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).cornelfalls 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: “coppa” (#62,797), “Cornyn” (#62,799), “cooch” (#62,796). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cornel” is #62,798. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cornel is uncommon English at frequency #62,798 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkɔːnəl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for cornel, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English corneille, borrowed from Middle French corneille, from Vulgar Latin *cornicula, from Latin cornus (“the European cornel”). The correct English form is cornel, spelled C-O-R-N-E-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any tree or shrub of the dogwood subgenera, Cornus subg. Arctocrania (syn. Cornus subg. Chamaepericlymenum) or Cornus subg. Cornus, especially Cornus mas, the European cornel.
  2. 2
    The cherry-like fruit of such plants, certain of which are edible.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Cornels, and ſalvage Berries of the Wood, / And Roots and Herbs have been my meagre Food.
  2. Meanwhile the goddess in disdain bestows / The mast and acorn, brutal food! and strows / The fruits and cornel, as their feast, around

Etymology

From Middle English corneille, borrowed from Middle French corneille, from Vulgar Latin *cornicula, from Latin cornus (“the European cornel”).

Synonyms

cornelian cherrycornel cherry

This word in other languages

cornejo(Español)cornouiller(Français)Kornelkirsche(Deutsch)

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 "cornel"?
"cornel" is spelled C-O-R-N-E-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɔːnəl/.
What does "cornel" mean?
As a noun, "cornel" means: Any tree or shrub of the dogwood subgenera, Cornus subg. Arctocrania (syn. Cornus subg. Chamaepericlymenum) or Cornus subg. Cornus, especially Cornus mas, the European cornel.
How do you pronounce "cornel"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cornel" is /ˈkɔːnəl/. 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 "cornel"?
From Middle English corneille, borrowed from Middle French corneille, from Vulgar Latin *cornicula, from Latin cornus (“the European cornel”). 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 "cornel", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Cornyn#62,799coulee#62,802concha#62,791creaky#62,808

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list