Kurd

/kɜːd/

//kɜːd// noun

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

"kurd" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Kurd” is uncommon English (frequency #55,543 among 1,236 “K” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#55,543
frequency rank, English
1,236
“K” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A member of the linguistically and culturally distinct people who speak Kurdish and mainly inhabit those parts of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria sometimes known as Kurdistan.

Corpus desk

Index EN-kurd · Kurd · English

Kurd · rank #55,543 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #55,543
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,236
  • PHOTO-FINISH Kunal

Nearest frequency peer: Kunal (-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 “Kurd”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Kurd
PropertyValue
HeadwordKurd
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɜːd/
Letters4
Frequency rank#55,543
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Kurd” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).Kurdfalls 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: “Kunal” (#55,542), “ladylike” (#55,545), “koto” (#55,540). Among 1,236 “K” headwords, “Kurd” is #55,543. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Kurd is uncommon English at frequency #55,543 among 1,236 “K” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /kɜːd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A member of the linguistically and culturally distinct people who speak Kurdish and mainly inhabit those parts of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria sometimes known as Kurdistan.".

Kurd doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Attested in English since roughly 1600, from Kurdish کورد (kurd) and Classical Persian کُرْد (kurd), from Middle Persian [Book Pahlavi needed] (gurd /⁠kurd⁠/), ultimately of unknown origin. More at Kurds. The correct English form is Kurd, spelled K-U-R-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A member of the linguistically and culturally distinct people who speak Kurdish and mainly inhabit those parts of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria sometimes known as Kurdistan.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Curdi, B[arbarous]. a people which many think to be the Parthians, A[uncient]. But we cannot possiblie thinke them to be so. wherein we agree with Castaldo.
  2. Mehemet took her for a man and said, “Good father, I am a Kurd: my story is very curious”

Etymology

Attested in English since roughly 1600, from Kurdish کورد (kurd) and Classical Persian کُرْد (kurd), from Middle Persian [Book Pahlavi needed] (gurd /⁠kurd⁠/), ultimately of unknown origin. More at Kurds.

This word in other languages

kurdo(Español)Kurde(Français)Kurde(Deutsch)curdo(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 "Kurd"?
"Kurd" is spelled K-U-R-D. The IPA pronunciation is /kɜːd/.
What does "Kurd" mean?
As a noun, "Kurd" means: A member of the linguistically and culturally distinct people who speak Kurdish and mainly inhabit those parts of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria sometimes known as Kurdistan.
How do you pronounce "Kurd"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Kurd" is /kɜːd/. 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 "Kurd"?
Attested in English since roughly 1600, from Kurdish کورد (kurd) and Classical Persian کُرْد (kurd), from Middle Persian [Book Pahlavi needed] (gurd /⁠kurd⁠/), ultimately of unknown origin. More at Kurds. 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 "Kurd", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

koto#55,540kolo#55,538Lani#55,548Linc#55,559

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list