cynosure
/ˈsɪnəzjʊə/
"cynosure" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cynosure” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Alternative letter-case form of Cynosure: Ursa Minor or Polaris, the North Star, used as a guide by navigators.
Corpus desk
Index EN-cynosure · cynosure · English
cynosure · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "C" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cynosure |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsɪnəzjʊə/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “cynosure” in English
Rare enough to double-check
cynosure is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsɪnəzjʊə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for cynosure, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French Cynosure (“Ursa Minor; Polaris”), from Latin Cynosūra (“Ursa Minor”), from Ancient Greek Κυνόσουρα (Kunósoura, “Ursa Minor”, literally “dog’s tail”), from κυνός (kunós, “dog's”) + οὐρά (ourá, “tail”). The correct English form is cynosure, spelled C-Y-N-O-S-U-R-E.
Definition
- 1Alternative letter-case form of Cynosure: Ursa Minor or Polaris, the North Star, used as a guide by navigators.
- 2That which serves to guide or direct; a guiding star.
- 3Something that is the center of attention; an object that serves as a focal point of attraction and admiration.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how cynosure appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
let faith be your cynosure to walk by
Meanwhile the fair young Queen, in her halls of state, walks like a goddess of Beauty, the cynosure of all eyes; as yet mingles not with affairs; heeds not the future; least of all, dreads it.
Etymology
From Middle French Cynosure (“Ursa Minor; Polaris”), from Latin Cynosūra (“Ursa Minor”), from Ancient Greek Κυνόσουρα (Kunósoura, “Ursa Minor”, literally “dog’s tail”), from κυνός (kunós, “dog's”) + οὐρά (ourá, “tail”).
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.