freckle

/ˈfɹɛkəl/

//ˈfɹɛkəl// noun

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

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

The verdict

“freckle” is uncommon English (frequency #62,151 among 2,507 “F” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#62,151
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A small brownish or reddish pigmentation spot on the surface of the skin.

Corpus desk

Index EN-freckle · freckle · English

freckle · rank #62,151 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #62,151
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH freckled

Nearest frequency peer: freckled (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “freckle”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “freckle” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for freckle
PropertyValue
Headwordfreckle
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfɹɛkəl/
Letters7
Frequency rank#62,151
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “freckle” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).frecklefalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “freckled” (#62,152), “foodstuff” (#62,148), “frightfully” (#62,154). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “freckle” is #62,151. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

freckle is uncommon English at frequency #62,151 among 2,507 “F” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈfɹɛkəl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for freckle in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English freken, frekel, from Old Norse freknur pl (compare Faroese frøknur, Swedish fräknar, Danish fregner), s-less variant of Old English sprecel from Proto-Germanic *sprekalą (“freckle”) (compare dialectal Norwegian sprekla, Middle High Germa… The correct English form is freckle, spelled F-R-E-C-K-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A small brownish or reddish pigmentation spot on the surface of the skin.
  2. 2
    Any small spot or discoloration.
  3. 3
    A small sweet consisting of a flattish mound of chocolate covered in hundreds and thousands.
  4. 4
    The anus.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Steve has brown hair, blue eyes, and freckles on his cheeks and nose.
  2. The rabbits came out from their burrows to peep, / The wind whispered, "Hush! little Jane's gone to sleep!" / And the spiders came spinning a curtain of lace, / Lest the sun should make freckles on Jane's pretty face.

Etymology

From Middle English freken, frekel, from Old Norse freknur pl (compare Faroese frøknur, Swedish fräknar, Danish fregner), s-less variant of Old English sprecel from Proto-Germanic *sprekalą (“freckle”) (compare dialectal Norwegian sprekla, Middle High German spreckel), from Proto-Indo-European *sp(h)er(e)g- (“to strew, sprinkle”). Cognate with Albanian fruth (“measles”). More at spark. Related to spry, sprack.

Synonyms

ephelislentigo

This word in other languages

peca(Español)tache de rousseur(Français)Sommersprosse(Deutsch)sarda(Português)

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 "freckle"?
"freckle" is spelled F-R-E-C-K-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɹɛkəl/.
What does "freckle" mean?
As a noun, "freckle" means: A small brownish or reddish pigmentation spot on the surface of the skin.
How do you pronounce "freckle"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "freckle" is /ˈfɹɛkəl/. 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 "freckle"?
From Middle English freken, frekel, from Old Norse freknur pl (compare Faroese frøknur, Swedish fräknar, Danish fregner), s-less variant of Old English sprecel from Proto-Germanic *sprekalą (“freckle”) (compare dialectal Norwegian sprekla, Middle ... 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 "freckle", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

fevered#62,140Fennell#62,138ganache#62,165Evesham#62,128

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list