recognizance
"recognizance" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“recognizance” is an uncommon English word, ranked #67,779 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #67,779
- frequency rank, English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A form of bail; a promise made by the accused to the court that they will attend all required judicial proceedings and will not engage in further illegal activity or other prohibited conduct as set...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | recognizance |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 12 |
| Frequency rank | #67,779 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “recognizance” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for recognizance is 12 letters long, classified as a noun. Corpus data places it at rank #67,779 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No generated misspelling entries exist for recognizance in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English reconisaunce, from Old French reconissance. Doublet of reconnaissance. The correct English form is recognizance, spelled R-E-C-O-G-N-I-Z-A-N-C-E.
Definition
- 1A form of bail; a promise made by the accused to the court that they will attend all required judicial proceedings and will not engage in further illegal activity or other prohibited conduct as set by the court.
- 2A token; a symbol; a pledge.
- 3Acknowledgment of a person or thing; avowal; profession; recognition.
Etymology
From Middle English reconisaunce, from Old French reconissance. Doublet of reconnaissance.
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); 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
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Using “recognizance”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-E-C-O-G-N-I-Z-A-N-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- 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.