esca

/ˈɛskə/

//ˈɛskə// noun

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

"esca" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“esca” is uncommon English (frequency #92,583 among 2,246 “E” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#92,583
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The fleshy growth from an anglerfish's head that acts as a lure for its prey.

Corpus desk

Index EN-esca · esca · English

esca · rank #92,583 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #92,583
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH ethnographer

Nearest frequency peer: ethnographer (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “esca”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “esca” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for esca
PropertyValue
Headwordesca
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɛskə/
Letters4
Frequency rank#92,583
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “esca” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).escafalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “ethnographer” (#92,584), “Etowah” (#92,586), “epitaxial” (#92,579). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “esca” is #92,583. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

esca is uncommon English at frequency #92,583 among 2,246 “E” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɛskə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for esca, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin ēsca (“bait”). The correct English form is esca, spelled E-S-C-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    The fleshy growth from an anglerfish's head that acts as a lure for its prey.
  2. 2
    A fungal disease afflicting grapes.

Etymology

From Latin ēsca (“bait”).

Synonyms

illiciumblack measles

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 "esca"?
"esca" is spelled E-S-C-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɛskə/.
What does "esca" mean?
As a noun, "esca" means: The fleshy growth from an anglerfish's head that acts as a lure for its prey.
How do you pronounce "esca"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "esca" is /ˈɛskə/. 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 "esca"?
From Latin ēsca (“bait”). 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 "esca", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

eisa#92,566dahi#92,511gorg#92,658crys#92,501

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list