darnel
/ˈdɑːnəɫ/
"darnel" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“darnel” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of genus Lolium of grasses, especially as a weed in wheat fields.
Corpus desk
Index EN-darnel · darnel · English
darnel · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "D" 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 | darnel |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈdɑːnəɫ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “darnel” in English
Rare enough to double-check
darnel is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈdɑːnəɫ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for darnel, 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 darnel, dernel, from Old Northern French darnelle ( > dialectal French dernelle, darnette), of Germanic origin, possibly Proto-West Germanic *darjan (“to harm, injure”). Related to Walloon darne, derne (“stunned, dazed, drunk”), Middle D… The correct English form is darnel, spelled D-A-R-N-E-L.
Definition
- 1Any of genus Lolium of grasses, especially as a weed in wheat fields.
- 2Any of genus Lolium of grasses, especially as a weed in wheat fields.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how darnel appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
With harlocks, hemlock, nettles, cuckoo-flowers, / Darnel, and all the idle weeds that grow / In our sustaining corn.
Poppies, hemp, and darnel were scavenged, dried, and ground up to produce a medieval hash brownie known as "crazy bread".
Etymology
From Middle English darnel, dernel, from Old Northern French darnelle ( > dialectal French dernelle, darnette), of Germanic origin, possibly Proto-West Germanic *darjan (“to harm, injure”). Related to Walloon darne, derne (“stunned, dazed, drunk”), Middle Dutch verdarnt, verdaernt (“stunned, dumbfounded, angry”). The association with being dazed or drunkenness is due to the well-known intoxicating effects of the plant.
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.