derringer
/ˈdɛɹɪndʒə(ɹ)/
"derringer" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“derringer” is uncommon English (frequency #85,167 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #85,167
- frequency rank, English
- 3,470
- “D” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A type of very small, concealable pistol with one or two barrels, but without any loading system or magazine.
Corpus desk
Index EN-derringer · derringer · English
derringer · rank #85,167 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #85,167
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,470
- PHOTO-FINISH deportment
Nearest frequency peer: deportment (-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 “derringer”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- deffo
deffo
14,840 corpus weight
- Deimos
Deimos
14,839 corpus weight
- deportment
deportment
14,835 corpus weight
- derringer
derringer
14,834 corpus weight
- Diab
Diab
14,830 corpus weight
- diene
diene
14,828 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “derringer” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | derringer |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈdɛɹɪndʒə(ɹ)/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #85,167 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “derringer” in English
Rare enough to double-check
derringer is uncommon English at frequency #85,167 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈdɛɹɪndʒə(ɹ)/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A type of very small, concealable pistol with one or two barrels, but without any loading system or magazine.".
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for derringer, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Named after American gunsmith Henry Deringer Junior (1786–1868). The correct English form is derringer, spelled D-E-R-R-I-N-G-E-R.
Definition
- 1A type of very small, concealable pistol with one or two barrels, but without any loading system or magazine.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how derringer appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
“Afraid? Oh no! they never interfere with me. […] And look here,” and diving her little hand into the bodice of her dress she produced a double-barrelled nickel-plated Derringer, “I always carry that loaded, and if anybody tried to touch me I should shoot him[…]”
Etymology
Named after American gunsmith Henry Deringer Junior (1786–1868).
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 "derringer", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).