drake

/dɹeɪk/

//dɹeɪk// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"drake" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“drake” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,557. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,557
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A male duck.

Corpus desk

Index EN-drake · drake · English

drake · rank #7,557 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,557
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH disputes

Nearest frequency peer: disputes (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “drake”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “drake” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

drake vs Dre
40% similar
drake vs draw
60% similar
drake vs duke
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for drake
PropertyValue
Headworddrake
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/dɹeɪk/
Letters5
Frequency rank#7,557
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “drake”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).drakelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “disputes” (#7,556), “employ” (#7,558), “detention” (#7,555). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “drake” is #7,557. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around drake (IPA /dɹeɪk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,557 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A male duck.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for drake, with forms such as "darke", "ddrake", and "draek". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Dre", "draw", "duke", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English drake (“male duck, drake”), from Old English *draca, abbreviated form for Old English *andraca (“male duck, drake”, literally “duck-king”), from Proto-West Germanic *anadrekō (“duck leader”). Cognate with Low German drake (“drake”), Dutc… The correct English form is drake, spelled D-R-A-K-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A male duck.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how drake appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. A drake belonging to a chemist, having drunk water out of a copper vessel which had contained phosphorous, continued its amorous activities until death.

Etymology

From Middle English drake (“male duck, drake”), from Old English *draca, abbreviated form for Old English *andraca (“male duck, drake”, literally “duck-king”), from Proto-West Germanic *anadrekō (“duck leader”). Cognate with Low German drake (“drake”), Dutch draak (“drake”), German Enterich (“drake”). More at annet.

This word in other languages

pato(Español)malard(Français)Erpel(Deutsch)pato(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • darke
  • ddrake
  • draek
  • drakke
  • drkae
  • drrake
  • rdake

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of drake - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

darke2ddrake1draek2drakke1drkae2drrake1rdake2
Edit distance from "drake"

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

How do you spell "drake"?
"drake" is spelled D-R-A-K-E. The IPA pronunciation is /dɹeɪk/.
What does "drake" mean?
As a noun, "drake" means: A male duck.
What words are commonly confused with "drake"?
"drake" is commonly confused with "Dre", "draw", "duke". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "drake"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "drake" is /dɹeɪk/. 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 "drake"?
From Middle English drake (“male duck, drake”), from Old English *draca, abbreviated form for Old English *andraca (“male duck, drake”, literally “duck-king”), from Proto-West Germanic *anadrekō (“duck leader”). Cognate with Low German drake (“dra... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "drake", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

curry#7,550Janet#7,572Katie#7,574cheek#7,535

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Casey7 variantspillow7 variantsapples7 variantspolar7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list