gracile
/ˈɡɹæsaɪl/
"gracile" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“gracile” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Lean, slender, thin.
Corpus desk
Index EN-gracile · gracile · English
gracile · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "G" 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 | gracile |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈɡɹæsaɪl/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “gracile” in English
Rare enough to double-check
gracile is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈɡɹæsaɪl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for gracile, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French gracil, gracile (“slender, thin”) (modern French gracile (“gracile”)), or directly from its etymon Latin gracilis (“slender, slim, thin; lean, meagre, scanty; simple, unadorned”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kerḱ- (“to b… The correct English form is gracile, spelled G-R-A-C-I-L-E.
Definition
- 1Lean, slender, thin.
- 2Of an animal or skeletal element: having a slender frame.
- 3Graceful or gracefully slender.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how gracile appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
[T]hoſe Trees that are called Firs by the Vulgar (from their near conformity and likeneſs to that Tree) are well known by all Learned Men (by the Redneſs, the Roſinous Nature of the Wood, the Gracil Cones hanging downwards, &c.) to be the true Pitch-Tree, of which there are ſuch great plenty in Norway, Sweden, and other Countries of the North, [...]
Maxillary palpi shorter than the antennæ, the terminal joint small, gracile, subulated; [...]
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French gracil, gracile (“slender, thin”) (modern French gracile (“gracile”)), or directly from its etymon Latin gracilis (“slender, slim, thin; lean, meagre, scanty; simple, unadorned”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kerḱ- (“to become thin; to wane”). The sense “graceful or gracefully slender” was apparently influenced by the non-cognate word grace. The English word is cognate with Italian gracile (“delicate, frail; slender, thin”), Portuguese grácil, Spanish grácil (“graceful; delicate; slender”), and a doublet of gracilis.
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.