pigtail

/ˈpɪɡ.teɪl/

//ˈpɪɡ.teɪl// noun

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

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

The verdict

“pigtail” is uncommon English (frequency #76,214 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#76,214
frequency rank, English
46,516
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The tail of a pig.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pigtail · pigtail · English

pigtail · rank #76,214 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #76,214
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 46,516
  • PHOTO-FINISH photogrammetry

Nearest frequency peer: photogrammetry (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “pigtail”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “pigtail” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026
Key facts for pigtail
PropertyValue
Headwordpigtail
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɪɡ.teɪl/
Letters7
Frequency rank#76,214
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pigtail” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). pigtail lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pigtail is uncommon English at frequency #76,214 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpɪɡ.teɪl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 9 senses are on record.

pigtail has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From pig + tail. The correct English form is pigtail, spelled P-I-G-T-A-I-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    The tail of a pig.
  2. 2
    Tobacco twisted into a string or roll.
  3. 3
    A braided plait of hair; queue.
  4. 4
    A braided plait of hair; queue.
  5. 5
    A braided plait of hair; queue.
  6. 6
    A braided plait of hair; queue.
  7. 7
    A short length of twisted electrical wire.
  8. 8
    The flamingo flower (anthurium)
  9. 9
    Twisted stent terminal; stent-end, usually but not necessarily a different fastened part.

Etymology

From pig + tail.

This word in other languages

coleta(Español)tresse(Français)Zopf(Deutsch)trança(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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pigtail"?
"pigtail" is spelled P-I-G-T-A-I-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɪɡ.teɪl/.
What does "pigtail" mean?
As a noun, "pigtail" means: The tail of a pig.
How do you pronounce "pigtail"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pigtail" is /ˈpɪɡ.teɪl/. 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 "pigtail"?
From pig + tail. 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 "pigtail", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Petrova#76,210Pokhara#76,226presage#76,235operand#76,186
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list