fool's gold
"fool-s-gold" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“fool's gold” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold; mainly iron pyrite.
Corpus desk
Index EN-fool-s-gold · fool's gold · English
fool's gold · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 11 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "F" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | fool's gold |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “fool's gold” in English
Rare enough to double-check
fool's gold is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for fool's gold in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From the idea that the mineral fools people (especially those who are fools) into mistakenly thinking that they have found gold. Regarding minerals that were named for deceptive appearance that prompts confusion with others, compare also apatite. The correct English form is fool's gold, spelled F-O-O-L-'-S- -G-O-L-D.
Definition
- 1A mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold; mainly iron pyrite.
- 2Something worthless that deceptively seems valuable.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how fool's gold appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Although many dot-com dreams turned to fool's gold in a short time, in reality, there are a number of entrepreneurial ventures that not only survived but thrived during and after the dot-com crash.
Etymology
From the idea that the mineral fools people (especially those who are fools) into mistakenly thinking that they have found gold. Regarding minerals that were named for deceptive appearance that prompts confusion with others, compare also apatite.
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.