English Word Reference Free

dragoon

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

7 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

open dictionary

Access

Free

no sign-up needed

Detailed reference entry for the English word "dragoon", 7-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "dragoon" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "dragoon" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

dragoon is aEnglishnoun. It means: Synonym of dragon (“a type of musket with a short, large-calibre barrel and a flared muzzle, metaphorically exhaling fire like a mythical dragon”). Pronounced /dɹəˈɡuːn/. Often confused with Drayton and Drago.

Key facts for dragoon
PropertyValue
Headworddragoon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/dɹəˈɡuːn/
Letters7
Frequency rank#44,176
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of dragoon in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for dragoon is 7 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dɹəˈɡuːn/. Corpus data places it at rank #44,176 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 9 documented wrong-spelling variants for dragoon, with forms such as "dargoon", "ddragoon", and "draggoon". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "Drayton", "Drago", "dragon", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is borrowed from French dragon (“dragon (mythological creature); type of cavalry soldier, dragoon”) (originally referring to a soldier armed with the firearm of the same name (noun sense 1.1)), ultimately from Latin dracō (“dragon; kind of serpent … Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is dragoon, spelled D-R-A-G-O-O-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Synonym of dragon (“a type of musket with a short, large-calibre barrel and a flared muzzle, metaphorically exhaling fire like a mythical dragon”).
  2. 2
    Originally (historical), a soldier armed with a dragoon musket (noun sense 1.1) who fought both on foot and mounted on a horse; now, a cavalier or horse soldier from a regiment formerly armed with such muskets.
  3. 3
    A man with a fierce or unrefined manner, like a dragoon (noun sense 1.2).
  4. 4
    A variety of pigeon, originally a cross between a horseman and a tumbler.

Etymology

The noun is borrowed from French dragon (“dragon (mythological creature); type of cavalry soldier, dragoon”) (originally referring to a soldier armed with the firearm of the same name (noun sense 1.1)), ultimately from Latin dracō (“dragon; kind of serpent or snake”), from Ancient Greek δρᾰ́κων (drắkōn, “dragon; serpent”), possibly from δέρκομαι (dérkomai, “to see, see clearly (in the sense of something staring)”), from Proto-Indo-European *derḱ- (“to see”)). Doublet of Draco, dracone, and dragon. The verb is either derived: * from the noun; or * from French dragonner (“to force (someone) into doing something, coerce; to torment (oneself)”), from dragon (noun) (see above) + -er (suffix forming infinitives of first-conjugation verbs).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: dargoon,ddragoon,draggoon,dragono,dragoonn,draogon,drgaoon,drragoon,rdagoon

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for dragoon

Misspelling Variants of "dragoon"

dargoon7ddragoon8draggoon8dragono7dragoonn8draogon7drgaoon7drragoon8
Misspelling Variants of "dragoon"

Frequency rank: #44,176 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "dragoon"?
"dragoon" is spelled D-R-A-G-O-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /dɹəˈɡuːn/.
What does "dragoon" mean?
As a noun, "dragoon" means: Synonym of dragon (“a type of musket with a short, large-calibre barrel and a flared muzzle, metaphorically exhaling fire like a mythical dragon”).
What words are commonly confused with "dragoon"?
"dragoon" is commonly confused with "Drayton", "Drago", "dragon". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "dragoon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dragoon" is /dɹəˈɡuːn/. 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 "dragoon"?
The noun is borrowed from French dragon (“dragon (mythological creature); type of cavalry soldier, dragoon”) (originally referring to a soldier armed with the firearm of the same name (noun sense 1.1)), ultimately from Latin dracō (“dragon; kind o... 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter D in our English index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.