cranny

/ˈkɹæni/

//ˈkɹæni// noun

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

"cranny" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cranny” is uncommon English (frequency #56,033 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#56,033
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A small, narrow opening, fissure, crevice, or chink, as in a wall, or other substance.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cranny · cranny · English

cranny · rank #56,033 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #56,033
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cradling

Nearest frequency peer: cradling (-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 “cranny”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “cranny” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cranny
PropertyValue
Headwordcranny
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɹæni/
Letters6
Frequency rank#56,033
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cranny” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).crannyfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “cradling” (#56,032), “cretin” (#56,034), “crosstown” (#56,036). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cranny” is #56,033. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cranny is uncommon English at frequency #56,033 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkɹæni/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for cranny, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English crany, crani (“cranny”), apparently a diminutive of *cran (+ -y), from Old French cran, cren (“notch, fissure”), a derivative of crener (“to notch, split”), from Medieval Latin crenō (“split”, verb), from Vulgar Latin *crinō (“split, bre… The correct English form is cranny, spelled C-R-A-N-N-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A small, narrow opening, fissure, crevice, or chink, as in a wall, or other substance.
  2. 2
    A tool for forming the necks of bottles, etc.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Down thro the Cranies of the living Walls / The Crystal Streams descend in murm'ring Falls
  2. [H]e peep'd into every Cranny; ſometimes he admir'd the Beauty of the Architecture, and the vaſt Solidity of the Maſon's VVork; at other Times he commended the Symmetry and Proportion of the Rooms.

Etymology

From Middle English crany, crani (“cranny”), apparently a diminutive of *cran (+ -y), from Old French cran, cren (“notch, fissure”), a derivative of crener (“to notch, split”), from Medieval Latin crenō (“split”, verb), from Vulgar Latin *crinō (“split, break”, verb), of obscure origin. Despite a spurious use in Pliny, connection to Latin crēna is doubtful. Instead, probably of Germanic or Celtic origin. Compare Old High German chrinna (“notch, groove, crevice”), Alemannic German Krinne (“small crack, channel, groove”), Low German karn (“notch, groove, crevice, cranny”), Old Irish ara-chrinin (“to perish, decay”).

This word in other languages

recoveco(Español)Spalt(Deutsch)

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 "cranny"?
"cranny" is spelled C-R-A-N-N-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɹæni/.
What does "cranny" mean?
As a noun, "cranny" means: A small, narrow opening, fissure, crevice, or chink, as in a wall, or other substance.
How do you pronounce "cranny"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cranny" is /ˈkɹæni/. 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 "cranny"?
From Middle English crany, crani (“cranny”), apparently a diminutive of *cran (+ -y), from Old French cran, cren (“notch, fissure”), a derivative of crener (“to notch, split”), from Medieval Latin crenō (“split”, verb), from Vulgar Latin *crinō (“... 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 "cranny", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cretin#56,034citron#56,013Cicely#56,011chumps#56,010

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list