plash

/plæʃ/

//plæʃ// noun

"plash" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“plash” 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 small pool of standing water; a marshy pond; also, a puddle; (uncountable) marshy land; mire.

Corpus desk

Index EN-plash · plash · English

plash · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "P" 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.

Key facts for plash
PropertyValue
Headwordplash
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/plæʃ/
Letters5
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “plash” in English

plashranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

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

Rare enough to double-check

plash is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /plæʃ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A small pool of standing water; a marshy pond; also, a puddle; (uncountable) marshy land; mire.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for plash, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English plasch, plasche, plash, plashe (“pool of standing water, marshy place; torrent of water (?)”), from Late Old English plæsċ, plesċ (“pool; puddle”), probably from Proto-West Germanic *plask (“pool”); further etymology unknown, probably ul… The correct English form is plash, spelled P-L-A-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    A small pool of standing water; a marshy pond; also, a puddle; (uncountable) marshy land; mire.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. And ſo than they of Bruges began to ſhote gonnes at thẽ. And than they of Gaũt diſcharged at ones thre .C. gonnes at one ſhotte: and ſo tourned a bout the plaſſhe of water and cauſed the ſon⸝ to be in the eyen of thẽ of Bruges⸝ the which greued them ſore: […]
  2. Out of the vvound the redblood flovved freſh, / That vnderneath his feet ſoone made a purple pleſh.

Etymology

From Middle English plasch, plasche, plash, plashe (“pool of standing water, marshy place; torrent of water (?)”), from Late Old English plæsċ, plesċ (“pool; puddle”), probably from Proto-West Germanic *plask (“pool”); further etymology unknown, probably ultimately onomatopoeic, referring to the sound of splashing. cognates * German platschen (“to splash”) * Middle Dutch plasch, plas (“pool”) (modern Dutch plas (“pool, watering hole”), plassen (“to splash, splatter”); Middle French plache (“pool”), plascq (“damp meadow”); Anglo-Norman plasseis (“marshes”, plural)) * West Frisian plaskje (“to splash, splatter”)

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 "plash"?
"plash" is spelled P-L-A-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /plæʃ/.
What does "plash" mean?
As a noun, "plash" means: A small pool of standing water; a marshy pond; also, a puddle; (uncountable) marshy land; mire.
How do you pronounce "plash"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "plash" is /plæʃ/. 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 "plash"?
From Middle English plasch, plasche, plash, plashe (“pool of standing water, marshy place; torrent of water (?)”), from Late Old English plæsċ, plesċ (“pool; puddle”), probably from Proto-West Germanic *plask (“pool”); further etymology unknown, p... 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list