rowel
/ˈɹoʊəl/
"rowel" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“rowel” 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) - The small spiked wheel on the end of a spur.
Corpus desk
Index EN-rowel · rowel · English
rowel · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "R" 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | rowel |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɹoʊəl/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “rowel” in English
Rare enough to double-check
rowel is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɹoʊəl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
rowel has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English rowel, rowell, rowelle, from Old French roel, roiele (compare modern French rouelle), from Late Latin rotella, diminutive of Latin rota (“wheel”). Doublet of rotella. The correct English form is rowel, spelled R-O-W-E-L.
Definition
- 1The small spiked wheel on the end of a spur.
- 2A little flat ring or wheel on a horse's bit.
- 3A roll of hair, silk, etc., passed through the flesh of a horse in the manner of a seton in human surgery.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how rowel appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The deep and sharp rowels with which Ivanhoe’s heels were now armed, began to make the worthy Prior repent of his courtesy,[…].
The dry desert of my native land, her men grey and gaunt, their spines twisted, their feet shod with rowel and spur.
Etymology
From Middle English rowel, rowell, rowelle, from Old French roel, roiele (compare modern French rouelle), from Late Latin rotella, diminutive of Latin rota (“wheel”). Doublet of rotella.
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.