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cornice

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

Letters

7 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "cornice", 7-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Wiktionary, and usage frequency ranked against an open word-frequency list covering the top 100,000 English words. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "cornice" 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 "cornice" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

cornice is aEnglishnoun. It means: A horizontal architectural element of a building, projecting forward from the main walls, originally used as a means of directing rainwater away from the building's walls. Pronounced /ˈkɔːnɪs/. Often confused with corrie and Cornish.

Key facts for cornice
PropertyValue
Headwordcornice
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɔːnɪs/
Letters7
Frequency rank#45,295
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for cornice is 7 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkɔːnɪs/. Corpus data places it at rank #45,295 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for cornice, with forms such as "ccornice", "conrice", and "corince". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "corrie", "Cornish", "Corsica", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French corniche or Italian cornice, from Latin cornīx (“crow”). 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 cornice, spelled C-O-R-N-I-C-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A horizontal architectural element of a building, projecting forward from the main walls, originally used as a means of directing rainwater away from the building's walls.
  2. 2
    A decorative element applied at the topmost part of the wall of a room, as with a crown molding.
  3. 3
    A decorative element at the topmost portion of certain pieces of furniture, as with a highboy.
  4. 4
    An overhanging edge of snow on a ridge or the crest of a mountain and along the sides of gullies.

Etymology

From Middle French corniche or Italian cornice, from Latin cornīx (“crow”).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ccornice,conrice,corince,corncie,cornicce,corniec,cornnice,corrnice,cronice,ocrnice

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for cornice

Misspelling Variants of "cornice"

ccornice8conrice7corince7corncie7cornicce8corniec7cornnice8corrnice8
Misspelling Variants of "cornice"

Frequency rank: #45,295 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cornice"?
"cornice" is spelled C-O-R-N-I-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɔːnɪs/.
What does "cornice" mean?
As a noun, "cornice" means: A horizontal architectural element of a building, projecting forward from the main walls, originally used as a means of directing rainwater away from the building's walls.
What words are commonly confused with "cornice"?
"cornice" is commonly confused with "corrie", "Cornish", "Corsica". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cornice"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cornice" is /ˈkɔːnɪs/. 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 "cornice"?
From Middle French corniche or Italian cornice, from Latin cornīx (“crow”). 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:

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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.