ouzel
/ˈuːzəl/
"ouzel" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ouzel” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula).
Corpus desk
Index EN-ouzel · ouzel · English
ouzel · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "O" 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 | ouzel |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈuːzəl/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “ouzel” in English
Rare enough to double-check
ouzel is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈuːzəl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for ouzel, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English osel, from Old English ōsle, from Proto-West Germanic *ą̄slā, *amslā, from Proto-Germanic *amslǭ. Cognate with German Amsel. For the spelling, compare Early Modern English bloud (“blood”). The correct English form is ouzel, spelled O-U-Z-E-L.
Definition
- 1A Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula).
- 2A water ouzel, an aquatic perching bird (Cinclus mexicanus).
Etymology
From Middle English osel, from Old English ōsle, from Proto-West Germanic *ą̄slā, *amslā, from Proto-Germanic *amslǭ. Cognate with German Amsel. For the spelling, compare Early Modern English bloud (“blood”).
Synonyms
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.