frankpledge
"frankpledge" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“frankpledge” 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 form of collective suretyship and punishment under English law among the members of a tithing.
Corpus desk
Index EN-frankpledge · frankpledge · English
frankpledge · 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 | frankpledge |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “frankpledge” in English
Rare enough to double-check
frankpledge is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
frankpledge doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Anglo-Latin franciplegium, a Latinization of Anglo-Norman frauncplege ("free pledge"), a mistranslation of Old English friðborh ("pledge of peace"), which had the corrupted form friborh, which led to the Modern English term friborg, as if it were *freo… The correct English form is frankpledge, spelled F-R-A-N-K-P-L-E-D-G-E.
Definition
- 1A form of collective suretyship and punishment under English law among the members of a tithing.
- 2Any group so similarly answerable for the conduct of all its members and liable for collective punishment.
- 3A decener: a member of a tithing bound in frankpledge.
- 4The tithing itself.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how frankpledge appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
King John granted to the prior and convent, in all their manors and lands, sac, soc, tol, and theam, infangenthef, and outfangenthef, with the ordeals or judgment by fire, water, and iron, and a common gallows in each manor; with a view of frankenpledge, and assize of bread and ale, of all their tenants...
The servants of the Crown were not, as now, bound in frankpledge for each other.
Etymology
From Anglo-Latin franciplegium, a Latinization of Anglo-Norman frauncplege ("free pledge"), a mistranslation of Old English friðborh ("pledge of peace"), which had the corrupted form friborh, which led to the Modern English term friborg, as if it were *freoborh ("free pledge"). See also friborg, which refers to the predecessor of frankpledge.
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.