covey
/ˈkʌvi/
"covey" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“covey” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #46,402 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #46,402
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A brood or family of partridges (family Phasianidae), which includes game birds such as grouse (tribe Tetraonini) and ptarmigans (tribe Tetraonini, genus Lagopus).
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | covey |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkʌvi/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #46,402 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “covey” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for covey is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkʌvi/. Corpus data places it at rank #46,402 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for covey, with forms such as "ccovey", "coevy", and "coveyy". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "coy", "cozy", "COVID", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is derived from Middle English covei, covey (“brood of partridges, covey; volley of shot; kind of gun”) [and other forms], from Old French covée (“brood (of chickens), clutch”) (modern French couvée), a noun use of the feminine past participle of c… The correct English form is covey, spelled C-O-V-E-Y.
Definition
- 1A brood or family of partridges (family Phasianidae), which includes game birds such as grouse (tribe Tetraonini) and ptarmigans (tribe Tetraonini, genus Lagopus).
- 2A group of other birds, such as quail (superfamily Phasianoidea).
- 3A group or party of people; also, a group or set of things.
Etymology
The noun is derived from Middle English covei, covey (“brood of partridges, covey; volley of shot; kind of gun”) [and other forms], from Old French covée (“brood (of chickens), clutch”) (modern French couvée), a noun use of the feminine past participle of cover (“to brood (an egg)”) (modern French couver), from Latin cubāre, the present active infinitive of cubō (“to lie down, recline; to incubate; to be broody”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewb- (“to lie down”). The verb is derived from the noun. Cognates French couvée (“brood (of chickens), clutch”), couver (“to brood (an egg)”) Italian covata (“brood, clutch, covey, hatch”), covare (“to brood or incubate (an egg)”)
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccovey,coevy,coveyy,covvey,covye,cvoey,ocvey
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of covey - 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.
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 "covey"?
What does "covey" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "covey"?
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Using “covey”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-V-E-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkʌvi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “coy” - see the side-by-side comparison. covey vs coy
- 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.