cottage

/ˈkɒt.ɪd͡ʒ/

//ˈkɒt.ɪd͡ʒ// noun

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

"cottage" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cottage” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,112. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,112
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A small house.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cottage · cottage · English

cottage · rank #7,112 · 8 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,112
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH contacted

Nearest frequency peer: contacted (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “cottage”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “cottage” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

cottage vs courage
71% similar
cottage vs cotta
71% similar
cottage vs collage
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for cottage
PropertyValue
Headwordcottage
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɒt.ɪd͡ʒ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#7,112
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “cottage”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).cottagelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “contacted” (#7,111), “coup” (#7,113), “considerably” (#7,110). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cottage” is #7,112. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around cottage (IPA /ˈkɒt.ɪd͡ʒ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,112 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for cottage, with forms such as "ccottage", "cotage", and "cotatge". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "courage", "cotta", "collage", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Late Middle English, from Anglo-Norman cotage and Medieval Latin cotagium, from Old Northern French cot, cote (“hut, cottage”) + -age (“surrounding property”), from Proto-Germanic *kutą, *kuta- (“shed”), probably of non-Indo-European origin, possibly borrow… The correct English form is cottage, spelled C-O-T-T-A-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A small house.
  2. 2
    A seasonal home of any size or stature, a recreational home or a home in a remote location.
  3. 3
    A public lavatory.
  4. 4
    A meeting place for homosexual men.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. So when four years were wholly finished, / She threw her royal robes away. / “Make me a cottage in the vale,” she said, / “Where I may mourn and pray.
  2. Most cottages in the area were larger and more elaborate than my home.

Etymology

Late Middle English, from Anglo-Norman cotage and Medieval Latin cotagium, from Old Northern French cot, cote (“hut, cottage”) + -age (“surrounding property”), from Proto-Germanic *kutą, *kuta- (“shed”), probably of non-Indo-European origin, possibly borrowed from Uralic; compare Finnish kota (“hut, house”) and Hungarian ház (“house”), both from Proto-Finno-Ugric/Proto-Uralic *kota. However, also compare Dutch and English hut. Old Northern French cote is probably from Old Norse kot (“hut”), cognate of Old English cot of same Proto-Germanic origin. Slang sense “public toilet” from 19th century, due to resemblance.

This word in other languages

chalet(Español)cottage(Français)Cottage(Deutsch)chalé(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccottage
  • cotage
  • cotatge
  • cottaeg
  • cottagge
  • cottgae
  • ctotage
  • octtage

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cottage - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ccottage1cotage1cotatge2cottaeg2cottagge1cottgae2ctotage2octtage2
Edit distance from "cottage"

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 "cottage"?
"cottage" is spelled C-O-T-T-A-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɒt.ɪd͡ʒ/.
What does "cottage" mean?
As a noun, "cottage" means: A small house.
What words are commonly confused with "cottage"?
"cottage" is commonly confused with "courage", "cotta", "collage". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cottage"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cottage" is /ˈkɒt.ɪd͡ʒ/. 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 "cottage"?
Late Middle English, from Anglo-Norman cotage and Medieval Latin cotagium, from Old Northern French cot, cote (“hut, cottage”) + -age (“surrounding property”), from Proto-Germanic *kutą, *kuta- (“shed”), probably of non-Indo-European origin, possi... 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 "cottage", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

capitol#7,103camping#7,102betting#7,098dragged#7,126

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

clerk8 variantsbehave8 variantsbanana8 variantsarrange8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list