etiquette
/ˈɛt.ɪˌkɛt/
"etiquette" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“etiquette” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #17,132 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #17,132
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The manners or decent behaviour to be observed in social or professional life; conventional decorum; the ceremonial code of polite society.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | etiquette |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɛt.ɪˌkɛt/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #17,132 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “etiquette” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for etiquette is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɛt.ɪˌkɛt/. Corpus data places it at rank #17,132 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for etiquette, with forms such as "eitquette", "etiqeutte", and "etiqquette". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: 1740, from French étiquette (“property, a little piece of paper, or a mark or title, affixed to a bag or bundle, expressing its contents, a label, ticket”), from Middle French estiquette (“ticket, memorandum”), from the Old French verb estechier, estichier,… The correct English form is etiquette, spelled E-T-I-Q-U-E-T-T-E.
Definition
- 1The manners or decent behaviour to be observed in social or professional life; conventional decorum; the ceremonial code of polite society.
- 2The customary behavior of members of a profession, business, law, or sports team towards each other.
- 3A label used to indicate that a letter is to be sent by airmail.
Etymology
1740, from French étiquette (“property, a little piece of paper, or a mark or title, affixed to a bag or bundle, expressing its contents, a label, ticket”), from Middle French estiquette (“ticket, memorandum”), from the Old French verb estechier, estichier, estequier (“to attach, stick”), (compare Picard estiquier (“to stick, pierce”)), from Frankish *stekan, *stikkjan (“to stick, pierce, sting”), from Proto-Germanic *stikaną, *stikōną, *staikijaną (“to be sharp, pierce, prick”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“to be sharp, to stab”). Akin to Old High German stehhan (“to stick, attach, nail”) (German stechen (“to stick”)), Old English stician (“to pierce, stab, be fastened”). The French Court of Louis XIV at Versailles used étiquettes (literally “little cards”) to remind courtiers to keep off of the grass and similar rules. More at stick (verb) and stitch. Doublet of ticket.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: eitquette,etiqeutte,etiqquette,etiquete,etiquetet,etiqutete,etiuqette,etqiuette,ettiquette,teiquette
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of etiquette - 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.
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 "etiquette"?
What does "etiquette" mean?
What are common misspellings of "etiquette"?
How do you pronounce "etiquette"?
What is the origin of the word "etiquette"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “etiquette”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-T-I-Q-U-E-T-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɛt.ɪˌkɛt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.