quintal

/ˈkwɪntl/

//ˈkwɪntl// noun

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

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

The verdict

“quintal” is uncommon English (frequency #88,756 among 288 “Q” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#88,756
frequency rank, English
288
“Q” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Synonym of hundredweight, 100 or 112 English or American pounds.

Corpus desk

Index EN-quintal · quintal · English

quintal · rank #88,756 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #88,756
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 288
  • PHOTO-FINISH quiff

Nearest frequency peer: quiff (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “quintal”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “quintal” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for quintal
PropertyValue
Headwordquintal
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkwɪntl/
Letters7
Frequency rank#88,756
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “quintal” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).quintalfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “quiff” (#88,755), “quitted” (#88,757), “rahn” (#88,758). Among 288 “Q” headwords, “quintal” is #88,756. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

quintal is uncommon English at frequency #88,756 among 288 “Q” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkwɪntl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for quintal, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Late Middle English, from Anglo-Norman quintal, from Middle French quintal, from Old French and Medieval Latin quintale and quintallus (“various medieval hundredweights”), from Arabic قِنْطَار (qinṭār, “100 rottols”), from Classical Syriac ܩܰܢܛܺܝܪܳܐ (qanṭīr… The correct English form is quintal, spelled Q-U-I-N-T-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Synonym of hundredweight, 100 or 112 English or American pounds.
  2. 2
    Various other similar units of weight in other systems.
  3. 3
    An unofficial metric unit equal to 100 kg.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. In one import license alone, the merchant in question was instructed to bring in 13,000 quintals of alum, which, snapped up by industries in England and the Low Countries, would yield the king a cool £8,666 13s 4d.

Etymology

Late Middle English, from Anglo-Norman quintal, from Middle French quintal, from Old French and Medieval Latin quintale and quintallus (“various medieval hundredweights”), from Arabic قِنْطَار (qinṭār, “100 rottols”), from Classical Syriac ܩܰܢܛܺܝܪܳܐ (qanṭīrā) and ܩܰܢܛܺܝܢܳܪܳܐ (qanṭīnārā), from Byzantine Greek κεντηνάριον (kentēnárion), from Latin centēnārium (“100 Roman pounds”), from the neuter of centēnārius (“having 100 things”). Use for various non-English units, borrowed from French quintal, Spanish quintal, Portuguese quintal, etc. The apparent relation to quint- (“five, fivefold”) and -al (forming adjectives) is accidental, although it possibly influenced the eventual spelling of the term. Doublet of centenary, centner, and kantar.

This word in other languages

quintal métrico(Español)quintal(Français)Quintal(Deutsch)quintal(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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "quintal"?
"quintal" is spelled Q-U-I-N-T-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkwɪntl/.
What does "quintal" mean?
As a noun, "quintal" means: Synonym of hundredweight, 100 or 112 English or American pounds.
How do you pronounce "quintal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "quintal" is /ˈkwɪntl/. 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 "quintal"?
Late Middle English, from Anglo-Norman quintal, from Middle French quintal, from Old French and Medieval Latin quintale and quintallus (“various medieval hundredweights”), from Arabic قِنْطَار (qinṭār, “100 rottols”), from Classical Syriac ܩܰܢܛܺܝܪ... 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 "quintal", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

quitted#88,757Proteas#88,741remount#88,775preemie#88,733

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list