pintle

/ˈpɪntəl/

//ˈpɪntəl// noun

"pintle" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pintle” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The penis.

Key facts for pintle
PropertyValue
Headwordpintle
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɪntəl/
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pintle” sits in English frequency

pintle falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for pintle is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpɪntəl/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for pintle, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English pyntel, from Old English pintel (“penis”), from Proto-West Germanic *pint(i), from Proto-Germanic *pint- (“protrusion”), from Proto-Indo-European *bend- (“peg, tip, protruding point, edge”), equivalent to pin + -le. Cognate with North Fr… The correct English form is pintle, spelled P-I-N-T-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The penis.
  2. 2
    A pin on the buckle of a belt used to fit into the holes of the belt and hold it at the desired level of tightness.
  3. 3
    A pin or bolt, usually vertical, which acts as a pivot for a hinge or a rudder.
  4. 4
    An iron pin used to control recoil of a cannon or around which a gun carriage revolves.

Etymology

From Middle English pyntel, from Old English pintel (“penis”), from Proto-West Germanic *pint(i), from Proto-Germanic *pint- (“protrusion”), from Proto-Indo-European *bend- (“peg, tip, protruding point, edge”), equivalent to pin + -le. Cognate with North Frisian pint (“male member, penis”), West Frisian pyt (“male member, penis”), Dutch piet (“penis”), German Low German and German Pint (“penis”), West Flemish pint, piet (“tip, spike, penis”), Danish pint, pintel (“penis”), Norwegian dialectal pintol (“penis”), dialectal Swedish pitt (“penis”). More at pin, pen.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pintle"?
"pintle" is spelled P-I-N-T-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɪntəl/.
What does "pintle" mean?
As a noun, "pintle" means: The penis.
How do you pronounce "pintle"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pintle" is /ˈpɪntəl/. 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 "pintle"?
From Middle English pyntel, from Old English pintel (“penis”), from Proto-West Germanic *pint(i), from Proto-Germanic *pint- (“protrusion”), from Proto-Indo-European *bend- (“peg, tip, protruding point, edge”), equivalent to pin + -le. Cognate wit... 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.

Using “pintle”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-I-N-T-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈpɪntəl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list