dog-ear

/ˈdɒɡɪə/

//ˈdɒɡɪə// noun

"dog-ear" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dog-ear” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The folded corner of the page of a book or other publication, either due to having been read many times or intentionally as a sort of bookmark.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dog-ear · dog-ear · English

dog-ear · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 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.

Key facts for dog-ear
PropertyValue
Headworddog-ear
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈdɒɡɪə/
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “dog-ear” in English

dog-earranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

dog-ear is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈdɒɡɪə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The folded corner of the page of a book or other publication, either due to having been read many times or intentionally as a sort of bookmark.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for dog-ear, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is a variant of dog's-ear, from dog + -’s + ear, due to the similarity of their appearance to the folded ears of certain dogs. The verb is either: * directly from dog + ear; * a back-formation from dog-eared; or * a variant of dog's-ear (verb). The correct English form is dog-ear, spelled D-O-G---E-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    The folded corner of the page of a book or other publication, either due to having been read many times or intentionally as a sort of bookmark.

Etymology

The noun is a variant of dog's-ear, from dog + -’s + ear, due to the similarity of their appearance to the folded ears of certain dogs. The verb is either: * directly from dog + ear; * a back-formation from dog-eared; or * a variant of dog's-ear (verb).

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "dog-ear"?
"dog-ear" is spelled D-O-G---E-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdɒɡɪə/.
What does "dog-ear" mean?
As a noun, "dog-ear" means: The folded corner of the page of a book or other publication, either due to having been read many times or intentionally as a sort of bookmark.
How do you pronounce "dog-ear"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dog-ear" is /ˈdɒɡɪə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "dog-ear"?
The noun is a variant of dog's-ear, from dog + -’s + ear, due to the similarity of their appearance to the folded ears of certain dogs. The verb is either: * directly from dog + ear; * a back-formation from dog-eared; or * a variant of dog's-ear (... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list