-fold
"fold" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“-fold” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a suffix - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Used to make adjectives meaning times.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | -fold |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Suffix |
| Letters | 5 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “-fold” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for -fold is 5 letters long, classified as a suffix. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for -fold, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English -fold, -fald, -fauld, from Old English -feald (“-fold”), from Proto-West Germanic *-falþ, from Proto-Germanic *-falþaz (“-fold”), from Proto-Indo-European *-poltos (“-fold”), from *pel- (“to fold”). Cognate with Dutch -voud, Swedish -fal… The correct English form is -fold, spelled --F-O-L-D.
Definition
- 1Used to make adjectives meaning times.
- 2Used to make adverbs meaning times.
Etymology
From Middle English -fold, -fald, -fauld, from Old English -feald (“-fold”), from Proto-West Germanic *-falþ, from Proto-Germanic *-falþaz (“-fold”), from Proto-Indo-European *-poltos (“-fold”), from *pel- (“to fold”). Cognate with Dutch -voud, Swedish -faldig (“-fold”), Latin -plus, -plex, Ancient Greek -παλτος (-paltos), -πλος (-plos), -πλόος (-plóos). More at fold.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "-fold"?
What does "-fold" mean?
What is the origin of the word "-fold"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “-fold”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is --F-O-L-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- 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.