folderol
/ˈfɔldəɹɔl/noun
folderol is spelled F-O-L-D-E-R-O-L: 8 letters. It appears about once in every 56 million words in written English, the 234,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, folderol means “Nonsense or foolishness” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of folderol is folderols.
How many letters and syllables are in folderol?
| Letters | 8: F-O-L-D-E-R-O-L |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 56 million words; the 234,209th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is folderol?
Folderol appears about once in every 56 million words in written English, the 234,209th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce folderol?
- UK /ˈfɒldəɹəl/
- US /ˈfɔldəɹɔl/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-folderol.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of folderol
- folderols plural
- fol-de-rol
- fol de rol
- falderal
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does folderol mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Nonsense or foolishness.
- 2
A decorative object of little value; a trifle or gewgaw.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does folderol come from?
Originally a nonsense refrain in songs, since circa 1701, as "fal, al, deral!", and 1820, used to make the song longer without adding more meaningful content (see non-lexical vocables in music). Compare falleri, fallera, extended as falleralla or fallerallera, in Swedish and German songs.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).