foretoken

noun

"foretoken" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“foretoken” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A prognostic; a premonitory sign; warning or presentiment.

Key facts for foretoken
PropertyValue
Headwordforetoken
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “foretoken” sits in English frequency

foretoken falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for foretoken is 9 letters long, classified as a noun. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A prognostic; a premonitory sign; warning or presentiment.".

Zero misspellings are on record for foretoken in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English foretokne, fortacne, from Old English foretācn, foretācen (“foretoken, presage, prognostic, prodigy, sign, wonder”), equivalent to fore- + token. Cognate with Dutch voorteken, German Low German Vörteken, German Vorzeichen. The correct English form is foretoken, spelled F-O-R-E-T-O-K-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A prognostic; a premonitory sign; warning or presentiment.

Etymology

From Middle English foretokne, fortacne, from Old English foretācn, foretācen (“foretoken, presage, prognostic, prodigy, sign, wonder”), equivalent to fore- + token. Cognate with Dutch voorteken, German Low German Vörteken, German Vorzeichen.

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 "foretoken"?
"foretoken" is spelled F-O-R-E-T-O-K-E-N.
What does "foretoken" mean?
As a noun, "foretoken" means: A prognostic; a premonitory sign; warning or presentiment.
What is the origin of the word "foretoken"?
From Middle English foretokne, fortacne, from Old English foretācn, foretācen (“foretoken, presage, prognostic, prodigy, sign, wonder”), equivalent to fore- + token. Cognate with Dutch voorteken, German Low German Vörteken, German Vorzeichen. 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.

Using “foretoken”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is F-O-R-E-T-O-K-E-N - 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list