esprit de corps
/ɛˌspɹiː də ˈkɔː/
"esprit-de-corps" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“esprit de corps” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 15
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A shared spirit of comradeship, enthusiasm, and devotion to a cause among the members of a group, for example of a military unit.
Corpus desk
Index EN-esprit-de-corps · esprit de corps · English
esprit de corps · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 15 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | esprit de corps |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɛˌspɹiː də ˈkɔː/ |
| Letters | 15 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “esprit de corps” in English
Rare enough to double-check
esprit de corps is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ɛˌspɹiː də ˈkɔː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A shared spirit of comradeship, enthusiasm, and devotion to a cause among the members of a group, for example of a military unit.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for esprit de corps, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Unadapted borrowing from French esprit de corps, from esprit (“spirit”) + de (“of”) + corps (“body”). The correct English form is esprit de corps, spelled E-S-P-R-I-T- -D-E- -C-O-R-P-S.
Definition
- 1A shared spirit of comradeship, enthusiasm, and devotion to a cause among the members of a group, for example of a military unit.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how esprit de corps appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
“Well done, sister! I honour your esprit du corps^([sic]). When I am a wife, I mean to be just as staunch myself; and I wish my friends in general would be so too. It would save me many a heartache.”
Always happening like that. The very moment. Girl in Eustace street hallway Monday was it settling her garter. Her friend covering the display of. Esprit de corps. Well, what are you gaping at?
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from French esprit de corps, from esprit (“spirit”) + de (“of”) + corps (“body”).
Synonyms
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.