gudgeon
/ˈɡʌdʒən/
"gudgeon" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“gudgeon” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. 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) - A small freshwater fish, Gobio gobio, that is native to Eurasia.
Corpus desk
Index EN-gudgeon · gudgeon · English
gudgeon · 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 | gudgeon |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɡʌdʒən/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “gudgeon” in English
Rare enough to double-check
gudgeon is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɡʌdʒən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for gudgeon in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is derived from Late Middle English gojoun [and other forms], from Old French gojon, goujon (“gudgeon”), from Late Latin gōbiōnem, the accusative of gōbiō, the augmentative of Latin gōbius (“gudgeon”), from Ancient Greek κωβῐός (kōbĭós, “fish of th… The correct English form is gudgeon, spelled G-U-D-G-E-O-N.
Definition
- 1A small freshwater fish, Gobio gobio, that is native to Eurasia.
- 2Cottus bairdii, more widely known as mottled sculpin.
- 3Any of various similar small fish of the family Eleotridae, often used as bait.
- 4Other fish, similar in appearance, principally in families Butidae and Eleotridae, but also in others.
- 5A person apt to take the bait; one easily cheated or duped; also, an idiot.
- 6Something used to lure or tempt; bait, a lure.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how gudgeon appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
[...] Ile tell thee more of this another time. / But fiſh not with this melancholy baite, / For this foole gudgin, this opinion: [...]
[...] Make Fools believe in their fore-seeing / Of things before they are in Being; / To swallow Gudgeons ere th' are catch'd, / And count their Chickens ere th' are hatch'd, [...]
Etymology
The noun is derived from Late Middle English gojoun [and other forms], from Old French gojon, goujon (“gudgeon”), from Late Latin gōbiōnem, the accusative of gōbiō, the augmentative of Latin gōbius (“gudgeon”), from Ancient Greek κωβῐός (kōbĭós, “fish of the gudgeon kind”), probably of Semitic origin. The English word is a doublet of goby and goujon. The verb is derived from the noun.
This word in other languages
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.