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ogle

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

4 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "ogle", 4-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "ogle" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "ogle" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

ogle is aEnglishverb. It means: To stare at (someone or something), especially impertinently, amorously, or covetously. Pronounced /ˈəʊɡl̩/. Often confused with one and old.

Key facts for ogle
PropertyValue
Headwordogle
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈəʊɡl̩/
Letters4
Frequency rank#42,304
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of ogle in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for ogle is 4 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈəʊɡl̩/. Corpus data places it at rank #42,304 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "To stare at (someone or something), especially impertinently, amorously, or covetously.".

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 4 documented wrong-spelling variants for ogle, with forms such as "gole", "ogel", and "oggle". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "one", "old", "oil", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 17th century. Probably from Low German ögeln (“to ogle, to flirt with one's eyes”), from Middle Low German ö̂gelen, frequentative of Middle Low German ö̂gen, from Old Saxon ōgian, from Proto-West Germanic *augijan (“to show”). Alternatively from an equivale… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is ogle, spelled O-G-L-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    To stare at (someone or something), especially impertinently, amorously, or covetously.

Etymology

17th century. Probably from Low German ögeln (“to ogle, to flirt with one's eyes”), from Middle Low German ö̂gelen, frequentative of Middle Low German ö̂gen, from Old Saxon ōgian, from Proto-West Germanic *augijan (“to show”). Alternatively from an equivalent Dutch *ogelen, but this seems unattested (only the simplex ogen). By surface analysis, eye + -le.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: gole,ogel,oggle,oglle

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for ogle

Misspelling Variants of "ogle"

gole4ogel4oggle5oglle5
Misspelling Variants of "ogle"

Frequency rank: #42,304 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ogle"?
"ogle" is spelled O-G-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈəʊɡl̩/.
What does "ogle" mean?
As a verb, "ogle" means: To stare at (someone or something), especially impertinently, amorously, or covetously.
What words are commonly confused with "ogle"?
"ogle" is commonly confused with "one", "old", "oil". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ogle"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ogle" is /ˈəʊɡl̩/. 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 "ogle"?
17th century. Probably from Low German ögeln (“to ogle, to flirt with one's eyes”), from Middle Low German ö̂gelen, frequentative of Middle Low German ö̂gen, from Old Saxon ōgian, from Proto-West Germanic *augijan (“to show”). Alternatively from a... 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter O in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.