foretale

noun

"foretale" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“foretale” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An account or telling given as an introduction to a larger body of work; prologue; a prior or previous recollection or account of events

Corpus desk

Index EN-foretale · foretale · English

foretale · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 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.

Key facts for foretale
PropertyValue
Headwordforetale
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “foretale” in English

foretalesits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

foretale is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

foretale has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From fore- + tale; compare foretell. The correct English form is foretale, spelled F-O-R-E-T-A-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An account or telling given as an introduction to a larger body of work; prologue; a prior or previous recollection or account of events
  2. 2
    An account given in advance; prediction

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The first three paragraphs of the translation are a condensed paraphrase of the first foretale, which tells of the birth of Aengus and how he obtains Etain for Midir by clearing twelve plains and creating twelve rivers (only nine are named in the story) [...]
  2. Mentioned in the ancient lists as Prime Stories, these short narratives were evidently foretales (remscéla) to the saga of Conaire Mor, the Great King of Tara, regarded by several clans as their ancestor.

Etymology

From fore- + tale; compare foretell.

Synonyms

Antonyms

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 "foretale"?
"foretale" is spelled F-O-R-E-T-A-L-E.
What does "foretale" mean?
As a noun, "foretale" means: An account or telling given as an introduction to a larger body of work; prologue; a prior or previous recollection or account of events
What is the origin of the word "foretale"?
From fore- + tale; compare foretell. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list