ploughshare
/ˈplaʊˌʃɛɚ/noun
ploughshare is spelled P-L-O-U-G-H-S-H-A-R-E: 11 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 28 million words in written English, the 161,690th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, ploughshare means “The cutting edge of a plough, typically a metal blade” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ploughshare is ploughshares.
How many letters and syllables are in ploughshare?
| Letters | 11: P-L-O-U-G-H-S-H-A-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 28 million words; the 161,690th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is ploughshare?
Ploughshare appears about once in every 28 million words in written English, the 161,690th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ploughshare?
- UK /ˈplaʊˌʃɛə/
- US /ˈplaʊˌʃɛɚ/
Ploughshare has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-plowshare.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ploughshare
- ploughshares plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ploughshare mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
UKThe cutting edge of a plough, typically a metal blade.
Holonyms: plough, plow < implement
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ploughshare in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense cutting edge of a plow:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | soc |
| German | Schar, Pflugeisen, Pflugschar |
| Portuguese | relha |
| Spanish | reja |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does ploughshare come from?
From Middle English plowgh-schare, plowh schare, equivalent to plough + share. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Plouchskoar (“ploughshare”), West Frisian ploechskaar (“ploughshare”), Dutch ploegschaar (“ploughshare”), German Low German Ploogschoor (“ploughshare”), German Pflugschar (“ploughshare”), Danish plovskær (“ploughshare”), Norwegian plogskjær (“ploughshare”). Eclipsed non-native Middle English culter (“ploughshare”), from Old English culter (“ploughshare, coulter, dagger”), borrowed from Latin culter (“knife, razor”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).