foliage

/ˈfəʊliɪdʒ/

//ˈfəʊliɪdʒ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“foliage” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #16,917. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#16,917
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The leaves of plants.

Corpus desk

Index EN-foliage · foliage · English

foliage · rank #16,917 · 9 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #16,917
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH floated

Nearest frequency peer: floated (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “foliage”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “foliage” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

foliage vs forage
71% similar
foliage vs footage
71% similar
foliage vs folate
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for foliage
PropertyValue
Headwordfoliage
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfəʊliɪdʒ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#16,917
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “foliage”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).foliagelands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “floated” (#16,916), “foreclosure” (#16,918), “Firefox” (#16,915). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “foliage” is #16,917. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around foliage (IPA /ˈfəʊliɪdʒ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #16,917 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for foliage, with forms such as "ffoliage", "floiage", and "foilage". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "forage", "footage", "folate", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From earlier foilage, from Late Middle English ffoylage, from Middle French feuillage. The more recent form is influenced by Latin folium (“leaf”). The correct English form is foliage, spelled F-O-L-I-A-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The leaves of plants.
  2. 2
    Fall foliage.
  3. 3
    An architectural ornament representing foliage.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Breezes blowing from beds of iris quickened her breath with their perfume; she saw the tufted lilacs sway in the wind, and the streamers of mauve-tinted wistaria swinging, all a-glisten with golden bees; she saw a crimson cardinal winging through the foliage, and amorous tanagers flashing like scarlet flames athwart the pines.

Etymology

From earlier foilage, from Late Middle English ffoylage, from Middle French feuillage. The more recent form is influenced by Latin folium (“leaf”).

This word in other languages

follaje(Español)feuillage(Français)Blätter(Deutsch)folhagem(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ffoliage
  • floiage
  • foilage
  • folaige
  • foliaeg
  • foliagge
  • foligae
  • folliage
  • ofliage

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of foliage - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ffoliage1floiage2foilage2folaige2foliaeg2foliagge1foligae2folliage1
Edit distance from "foliage"

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 "foliage"?
"foliage" is spelled F-O-L-I-A-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfəʊliɪdʒ/.
What does "foliage" mean?
As a noun, "foliage" means: The leaves of plants.
What words are commonly confused with "foliage"?
"foliage" is commonly confused with "forage", "footage", "folate". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "foliage"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "foliage" is /ˈfəʊliɪdʒ/. 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 "foliage"?
From earlier foilage, from Late Middle English ffoylage, from Middle French feuillage. The more recent form is influenced by Latin folium (“leaf”). 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "foliage", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

floated#16,916Firefox#16,915funnier#16,923Georges#16,925

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

Fresno9 variantsGoodwin9 variantshelper9 variantsemulate9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list