jackdaw

/ˈdʒækˌdɔː/

//ˈdʒækˌdɔː// noun

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

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

The verdict

“jackdaw” is uncommon English (frequency #79,649 among 796 “J” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#79,649
frequency rank, English
796
“J” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A bird of the genus Coloeus, similar in appearance to crows and found within the same family; traditionally associated with church towers and ruins, where it frequently likes to nest.

Corpus desk

Index EN-jackdaw · jackdaw · English

jackdaw · rank #79,649 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #79,649
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 796
  • PHOTO-FINISH Izz

Nearest frequency peer: Izz (-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 “jackdaw”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for jackdaw
PropertyValue
Headwordjackdaw
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈdʒækˌdɔː/
Letters7
Frequency rank#79,649
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “jackdaw” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).jackdawfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Izz” (#79,648), “jehu” (#79,652), “Joab” (#79,654). Among 796 “J” headwords, “jackdaw” is #79,649. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

jackdaw is uncommon English at frequency #79,649 among 796 “J” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈdʒækˌdɔː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A bird of the genus Coloeus, similar in appearance to crows and found within the same family; traditionally associated with church towers and ruins, where it frequently likes to nest.".

Zero misspellings are on record for jackdaw in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Compound of jack + daw. The first element, also present in Low German (North Saxon) Jöker (“jackdaw”), may refer either to its characteristic call, often represented as tchak-tchak, maybe influenced by association with the name Jack. The second element mean… The correct English form is jackdaw, spelled J-A-C-K-D-A-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    A bird of the genus Coloeus, similar in appearance to crows and found within the same family; traditionally associated with church towers and ruins, where it frequently likes to nest.

Etymology

Compound of jack + daw. The first element, also present in Low German (North Saxon) Jöker (“jackdaw”), may refer either to its characteristic call, often represented as tchak-tchak, maybe influenced by association with the name Jack. The second element means “jackdaw” in itself, from Old English *dāwe, from Proto-Germanic *dēhǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰēk- (“a daw, starling, thrush, similar birds”). Cognate with Old Prussian doacke (“starling”), Latin faccilāre (“the sound or timbre of the thrush”), and German Dohle (“jackdaw”).

This word in other languages

grajilla(Español)choucas(Français)Dohle(Deutsch)

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 "jackdaw"?
"jackdaw" is spelled J-A-C-K-D-A-W. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdʒækˌdɔː/.
What does "jackdaw" mean?
As a noun, "jackdaw" means: A bird of the genus Coloeus, similar in appearance to crows and found within the same family; traditionally associated with church towers and ruins, where it frequently likes to nest.
How do you pronounce "jackdaw"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "jackdaw" is /ˈdʒækˌdɔː/. 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 "jackdaw"?
Compound of jack + daw. The first element, also present in Low German (North Saxon) Jöker (“jackdaw”), may refer either to its characteristic call, often represented as tchak-tchak, maybe influenced by association with the name Jack. The second el... 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 "jackdaw", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

jobsite#79,655Kadyrov#79,663kampung#79,666Karelia#79,667

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list