cradle
Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.
Letters
6 characters
Language
English
word origin
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Detailed reference entry for the English word "cradle", 6-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "cradle" 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 "cradle" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.
cradle is aEnglishnoun. It means: A bed or cot for a baby, oscillating on rockers or swinging on pivots. Pronounced /ˈkɹeɪdəl/. Often confused with crude and crane.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cradle |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkɹeɪdəl/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #14,927 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 15 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency rank visualization
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for cradle is 6 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkɹeɪdəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #14,927 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 15 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 9 documented wrong-spelling variants for cradle, with forms such as "cardle", "ccradle", and "craddle". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 15 confusable-pair relationships, "crude", "crane", "crawl", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English cradel, credel, from Old English cradol, from Proto-West Germanic *kradul, from Proto-Germanic *kradulaz, from Proto-Germanic *kradô (“(wicker) basket”). Related to cart. 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 cradle, spelled C-R-A-D-L-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1A bed or cot for a baby, oscillating on rockers or swinging on pivots.
- 2The place of origin, or in which anything is nurtured or protected in the earlier period of existence.
- 3Infancy, or very early life.
- 4An implement consisting of a broad scythe for cutting grain, with a set of long fingers parallel to the scythe, designed to receive the grain, and to lay it evenly in a swath.
- 5A tool used in mezzotint engraving, which, by a rocking motion, raises burrs on the surface of the plate, so as to prepare the ground.
- 6A framework of timbers, or iron bars, moving upon ways or rollers, used to support, lift, or carry ships or other vessels, heavy guns, etc., as up an inclined plane, or across a strip of land, or in launching a ship.
- 7A case for a broken or dislocated limb.
- 8A frame to keep the bedclothes from contact with the sensitive parts of an injured person.
- 9A machine on rockers, used in washing out auriferous earth.
- 10A suspended scaffold used in shafts.
- 11A ribbing for vaulted ceilings and arches intended to be covered with plaster.
- 12A basket or apparatus in which, when a line has been made fast to a wrecked ship from the shore, the people are brought off from the wreck.
- 13A rest for the receiver of a telephone, or for certain computer hardware.
- 14A hand position allowing a contact ball to be held steadily on the back of the hand.
- 15A mechanical device for tilting and decanting a bottle of wine.
Etymology
From Middle English cradel, credel, from Old English cradol, from Proto-West Germanic *kradul, from Proto-Germanic *kradulaz, from Proto-Germanic *kradô (“(wicker) basket”). Related to cart.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: cardle,ccradle,craddle,cradel,cradlle,cralde,crdale,crradle,rcadle
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
Relative frequency of common misspelling types for cradle
Misspelling Variants of "cradle"
Frequency rank: #14,927 in English
Frequently Asked Questions
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Nearby English words
Other entries that begin with the letter C in our English index: