feathering

noun

"feathering" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“feathering” is uncommon English (frequency #54,174 among 2,507 “F” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#54,174
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords

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

Corpus desk

Index EN-feathering · feathering · English

feathering · rank #54,174 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #54,174
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH feckless

Nearest frequency peer: feckless (+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 “feathering”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for feathering
PropertyValue
Headwordfeathering
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Frequency rank#54,174
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “feathering” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).featheringfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “feckless” (#54,175), “Fellowes” (#54,177), “eze” (#54,170). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “feathering” is #54,174. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

feathering is uncommon English at frequency #54,174 among 2,507 “F” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for feathering, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is feathering, spelled F-E-A-T-H-E-R-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Plumage.
  2. 2
    A feathered texture.
  3. 3
    The fitting of feathers to arrows.
  4. 4
    An arrangement of small arcs or foils separated by projecting cusps, frequently forming the feather-like ornament on the inner mouldings of arches.
  5. 5
    Visible offshoots of the trails of ink written on overly absorbent paper.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. The whole flower is very small; the tube is faintly marked with lilac lines; the petals are concave, the three outer white, marked with three lines, the middle one narrow, without featherings, the outer ones broader, and neatly feathered […]

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 "feathering"?
"feathering" is spelled F-E-A-T-H-E-R-I-N-G.
What does "feathering" mean?
As a noun, "feathering" means: Plumage.
What language does "feathering" come from?
"feathering" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "feathering", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list