cygnet
/ˈsɪɡ.nɪt/
"cygnet" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cygnet” is uncommon English (frequency #97,989 among 43,570 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #97,989
- frequency rank, English
- 43,570
- “C” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The young of a swan.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cygnet |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsɪɡ.nɪt/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #97,989 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “cygnet” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
cygnet is uncommon English at frequency #97,989 among 43,570 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsɪɡ.nɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The young of a swan.".
No misspelling variants are generated for cygnet in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English cignet, signet, from Anglo-Norman cignet, diminutive of Old French cigne (“swan”), from Latin cygnus, cycnus (“swan”), from Ancient Greek κύκνος (kúknos, “swan”). The correct English form is cygnet, spelled C-Y-G-N-E-T.
Definition
- 1The young of a swan.
Etymology
From Middle English cignet, signet, from Anglo-Norman cignet, diminutive of Old French cigne (“swan”), from Latin cygnus, cycnus (“swan”), from Ancient Greek κύκνος (kúknos, “swan”).
Synonyms
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); 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 "cygnet"?
What does "cygnet" mean?
How do you pronounce "cygnet"?
What is the origin of the word "cygnet"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “cygnet”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-Y-G-N-E-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsɪɡ.nɪt/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.