daub
/dɔːb/
"daub" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“daub” is uncommon English (frequency #78,511 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #78,511
- frequency rank, English
- 3,470
- “D” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Excrement or clay used as a bonding material in construction.
Corpus desk
Index EN-daub · daub · English
daub · rank #78,511 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #78,511
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,470
- PHOTO-FINISH Dawley
Nearest frequency peer: Dawley (+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 “daub”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- dalal
dalal
21,494 corpus weight
- damnable
damnable
21,493 corpus weight
- danceable
danceable
21,492 corpus weight
- daub
daub
21,490 corpus weight
- Dawley
Dawley
21,489 corpus weight
- deadening
deadening
21,487 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “daub” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | daub |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /dɔːb/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #78,511 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “daub” in English
Rare enough to double-check
daub is uncommon English at frequency #78,511 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /dɔːb/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
daub has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English daub (noun), from Middle English dauben (“to plaster or whitewash; cover with clay; bespatter”, verb), from Old Northern French dauber (“to whitewash; plaster”), of uncertain origin. Probably from Latin dealbāre (“to whiten thoroughly”),… The correct English form is daub, spelled D-A-U-B.
Definition
- 1Excrement or clay used as a bonding material in construction.
- 2A soft coating of mud, plaster, etc.
- 3A crude or amateurish painting.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how daub appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Ah, but what if he penned what in the art schools they call an 'artist's statement' wherein he explained the relation of his gibberish or his daubs to the mainstream of art or writing?
Etymology
From Middle English daub (noun), from Middle English dauben (“to plaster or whitewash; cover with clay; bespatter”, verb), from Old Northern French dauber (“to whitewash; plaster”), of uncertain origin. Probably from Latin dealbāre (“to whiten thoroughly”), which would make it a doublet of dealbate.
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "daub", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).