eiderdown

noun

"eiderdown" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The down of the eider duck, used for stuffing pillows and quilts.

Corpus desk

Index EN-eiderdown · eiderdown · English

eiderdown · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "E" 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 eiderdown
PropertyValue
Headwordeiderdown
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “eiderdown” in English

eiderdownfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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

Rare enough to double-check

eiderdown is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

eiderdown doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From eider + down. The correct English form is eiderdown, spelled E-I-D-E-R-D-O-W-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The down of the eider duck, used for stuffing pillows and quilts.
  2. 2
    A quilt stuffed with this down.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. A great sea lifted us high and, crashing down with a deafening roar, carried us swiftly along on light foam as soft as eiderdown.
  2. The landlord was near spraining his wrist, and I told him for heaven’s sake to quit—the bed was soft enough to suit me, and I did not know how all the planing in the world could make eider down of a pine plank.

Etymology

From eider + down.

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 "eiderdown"?
"eiderdown" is spelled E-I-D-E-R-D-O-W-N.
What does "eiderdown" mean?
As a noun, "eiderdown" means: The down of the eider duck, used for stuffing pillows and quilts.
What is the origin of the word "eiderdown"?
From eider + down. 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