festoon

/fɛsˈtuːn/

//fɛsˈtuːn// noun

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

"festoon" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“festoon” is an uncommon English word, ranked #95,969 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#95,969
frequency rank, English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An ornament such as a garland or chain which hangs loosely from two tacked spots.

Key facts for festoon
PropertyValue
Headwordfestoon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/fɛsˈtuːn/
Letters7
Frequency rank#95,969
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “festoon” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for festoon is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /fɛsˈtuːn/. Corpus data places it at rank #95,969 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

festoon doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. 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: From French feston. The correct English form is festoon, spelled F-E-S-T-O-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    An ornament such as a garland or chain which hangs loosely from two tacked spots.
  2. 2
    A bas-relief, painting, or structural motif resembling such an ornament.
  3. 3
    A raised cable with light globes attached.
  4. 4
    A cloud on Jupiter that hangs out of its home belt or zone into an adjacent area forming a curved finger-like image or a complete loop back to its home belt or zone.
  5. 5
    Any of a series of wrinkles on the backs of some ticks.
  6. 6
    A specific style of electric light bulb consisting of a cylindrical enclosure with two points of contact on either end providing power to the filament or diode.
  7. 7
    Two sets of rollers used to create a buffer of material on web handling equipment.
  8. 8
    Any of various papilionid butterflies of the genus Zerynthia.
  9. 9
    Texturing applied to a denture to simulate human tissue.

Etymology

From French feston.

This word in other languages

guirnalda(Español)feston(Français)Feston(Deutsch)

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 "festoon"?
"festoon" is spelled F-E-S-T-O-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /fɛsˈtuːn/.
What does "festoon" mean?
As a noun, "festoon" means: An ornament such as a garland or chain which hangs loosely from two tacked spots.
How do you pronounce "festoon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "festoon" is /fɛsˈtuːn/. 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 "festoon"?
From French feston. 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.

Using “festoon”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is F-E-S-T-O-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /fɛsˈtuːn/ (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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list