dotterel
/ˈdɒtɹəl/noun, adjective
dotterel is spelled D-O-T-T-E-R-E-L: 8 letters. It appears about once in every 44 million words in written English, the 204,233rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, dotterel means “A gullible fool, especially an elderly person with impaired faculties” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of dotterel is dotterels.
How many letters and syllables are in dotterel?
| Letters | 8: D-O-T-T-E-R-E-L |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 44 million words; the 204,233rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is dotterel?
Dotterel appears about once in every 44 million words in written English, the 204,233rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce dotterel?
- /ˈdɒtɹəl/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-dotterel.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of dotterel
- dotterels plural
- more dotterel comparative
- most dotterel superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dotterel mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A gullible fool, especially an elderly person with impaired faculties.
- 2
A small brown-and-black bird of species Charadrius morinellus, of the plover family.
- 3
AustraliaAny of various small birds of Australasia thought to resemble the Eurasian dotterel.
adjective
- 1
decayed
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Dotterel in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense bird in the plover family Charadriidae:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Portuguese | borrelho |
| Spanish | chorlito carambolo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does dotterel come from?
15th century. From dote (“to be foolish; senile”) + -rel (“pejorative suffix”). The bird is so named as it is easy to catch.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).