cran
"cran" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cran” is uncommon English (frequency #78,496 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #78,496
- frequency rank, English
- 5,599
- “C” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A measure of herrings, either imprecise or sometimes legally specified. It has oftentimes been about 37½ imperial gallons, or ~750 herrings on average (up to 1200 or even ~2500).
Corpus desk
Index EN-cran · cran · English
cran · rank #78,496 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #78,496
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 5,599
- PHOTO-FINISH coxswain
Nearest frequency peer: coxswain (-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 “cran”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- coquette
coquette
21,509 corpus weight
- correlative
correlative
21,508 corpus weight
- coxswain
coxswain
21,506 corpus weight
- cran
cran
21,505 corpus weight
- crestfallen
crestfallen
21,504 corpus weight
- culottes
culottes
21,501 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “cran” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cran |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #78,496 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “cran” in English
Rare enough to double-check
cran is uncommon English at frequency #78,496 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
cran has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: Evidently from, or at least influenced by Goidelic; compare Scottish Gaelic crann (“lot, measure of herring, tree, etc.”). The correct English form is cran, spelled C-R-A-N.
Definition
- 1A measure of herrings, either imprecise or sometimes legally specified. It has oftentimes been about 37½ imperial gallons, or ~750 herrings on average (up to 1200 or even ~2500).
- 2A barrel made to hold such a measure.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how cran appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Very flattering indeed has been the success of the fishermen; and many boats have come in loaded, averaging thirty or forty crans each (every cran estimated at 1,000 herrings), and disposed of their cargoes at nine shillings per cran; but the price has been since raised to fifteen shillings.
His brother caught three hundred cran when the seas were lavish, / Threw the bleeders back in the sea and went upon the parish.
Etymology
Evidently from, or at least influenced by Goidelic; compare Scottish Gaelic crann (“lot, measure of herring, tree, etc.”).
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cran", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).