cornflower

/ˈkɔɹnˌflaʊ.ɚ/

//ˈkɔɹnˌflaʊ.ɚ// noun

"cornflower" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cornflower” is uncommon English (frequency #79,411 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#79,411
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A small annual plant in the family Asteraceae, Centaurea cyanus, usually with bushy blue flowers which grows natively in European cornfields (i.e. wheatfields).

Corpus desk

Index EN-cornflower · cornflower · English

cornflower · rank #79,411 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #79,411
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH corniche

Nearest frequency peer: corniche (+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 “cornflower”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cornflower
PropertyValue
Headwordcornflower
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɔɹnˌflaʊ.ɚ/
Letters10
Frequency rank#79,411
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cornflower” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).cornflowerfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “corniche” (#79,412), “copra” (#79,408), “corruptible” (#79,414). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cornflower” is #79,411. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cornflower is uncommon English at frequency #79,411 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkɔɹnˌflaʊ.ɚ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

cornflower has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From corn + flower. Piecewise doublet of cornflour. The correct English form is cornflower, spelled C-O-R-N-F-L-O-W-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A small annual plant in the family Asteraceae, Centaurea cyanus, usually with bushy blue flowers which grows natively in European cornfields (i.e. wheatfields).
  2. 2
    A plant of the species Cichorium intybus.
  3. 3
    A color, cornflower blue.

Etymology

From corn + flower. Piecewise doublet of cornflour.

Synonyms

bachelor's buttonbasket flowerbluebottleboutonniere flowerhurtsicklecommon chicoryblue daisyblue dandelionblue sailorblue weedcoffeeweedchicory buttonhendibehhorseweedragged sailorsuccorywild bachelor's buttonwild endive

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

How do you spell "cornflower"?
"cornflower" is spelled C-O-R-N-F-L-O-W-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɔɹnˌflaʊ.ɚ/.
What does "cornflower" mean?
As a noun, "cornflower" means: A small annual plant in the family Asteraceae, Centaurea cyanus, usually with bushy blue flowers which grows natively in European cornfields (i.e. wheatfields).
How do you pronounce "cornflower"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cornflower" is /ˈkɔɹnˌflaʊ.ɚ/. 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 "cornflower"?
From corn + flower. Piecewise doublet of cornflour. 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 "cornflower", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list