kirtle
kir·tle/ˈkɚt(ə)l/noun, verb
kirtle is spelled K-I-R-T-L-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables (kir·tle). It appears about once in every 49 million words in written English, the 217,360th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, kirtle means “A knee-length tunic” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of kirtle is kirtles.
How many letters and syllables are in kirtle?
| Letters | 6: K-I-R-T-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: kir·tle |
| In writing | about once in every 49 million words; the 217,360th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is kirtle?
Kirtle appears about once in every 49 million words in written English, the 217,360th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce kirtle?
- UK /ˈkəːt(ə)l/
- UK /ˈkɜː(ɹ)-/
- US /ˈkɚt(ə)l/
Kirtle has 2 syllables, split kir·tle in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-kirtle.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with kirtle?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as kirtle (/əɹtl/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: kilter.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of kirtle
- kirtles plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- kirtling participle, present
- kirtled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does kirtle mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A knee-length tunic.
- 2
A short jacket.
- 3
A woman's gown; a woman's outer petticoat or skirt.
verb
- 1
To clothe or cover with, or as if with, a kirtle; to hitch up (a long garment) to the length of a kirtle.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Kirtle in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense knee-length tunic:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does kirtle come from?
From Middle English kirtel, from Old English cyrtel, cognate with Old Norse kyrtill (“tunic”) (whence Icelandic kyrtill, Danish kjortel (“gown, tunic”), Swedish kjortel (“petticoat, skirt”)), from Old Norse *kurtil-, supposedly a diminutive of *kurt-, from Latin curtus (“short, shortened”). Compare German Kittel.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).