cranesbill
/ˈkɹeɪnz.bɪl/
"cranesbill" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cranesbill” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any flowering plant of the genus Geranium found throughout the temperate zone.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cranesbill |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkɹeɪnz.bɪl/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “cranesbill” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
cranesbill is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkɹeɪnz.bɪl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for cranesbill in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in the 1500s. Calque of Dutch craenhals; cognate with German Kranichhals and Middle Low German kraneshals, all likely derived from Latin geranium, from Ancient Greek γέρᾰνος (gérănos, “crane”). By surface analysis, crane + -s- + bill. The flo… The correct English form is cranesbill, spelled C-R-A-N-E-S-B-I-L-L.
Definition
- 1Any flowering plant of the genus Geranium found throughout the temperate zone.
- 2A pair of long-beaked forceps.
Etymology
First attested in the 1500s. Calque of Dutch craenhals; cognate with German Kranichhals and Middle Low German kraneshals, all likely derived from Latin geranium, from Ancient Greek γέρᾰνος (gérănos, “crane”). By surface analysis, crane + -s- + bill. The flowering plant is so called because of the lengthened appendage of the seed vessel.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “cranesbill”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-R-A-N-E-S-B-I-L-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkɹeɪnz.bɪl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.