saltire

/ˈsæl.taɪə/

//ˈsæl.taɪə// noun

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

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

The verdict

“saltire” is uncommon English (frequency #60,441 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#60,441
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An ordinary (geometric design) in the shape of an X. It usually occupies the entire field in which it is placed.

Corpus desk

Index EN-saltire · saltire · English

saltire · rank #60,441 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #60,441
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH saccharomyces

Nearest frequency peer: saccharomyces (-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 “saltire”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for saltire
PropertyValue
Headwordsaltire
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsæl.taɪə/
Letters7
Frequency rank#60,441
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “saltire” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).saltirefalls 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: “saccharomyces” (#60,440), “Sava” (#60,444), “Runic” (#60,436). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “saltire” is #60,441. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

saltire is uncommon English at frequency #60,441 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsæl.taɪə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

saltire doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. 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 sawtoure, from Old French sautoir (“stile, saltire”) (compare French sautoir (“saltire”)), from sauter (“to jump, to leap”) + -oir (subject forming nouns denoting physical objects from verbs), from Latin saltāre (“to dance, to jump”) + -… The correct English form is saltire, spelled S-A-L-T-I-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An ordinary (geometric design) in the shape of an X. It usually occupies the entire field in which it is placed.
  2. 2
    The Saint Andrew's cross, the flag of Scotland.
  3. 3
    The Saint Patrick's Cross, the pre 1922 flag of Ireland.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. But the World Cup winning veteran's left boot was awry again, the attempt sliced horribly wide of the left upright, and the saltires were waving aloft again a moment later when a long pass in the England midfield was picked off to almost offer up a breakaway try.
  2. It was early August. In the Borders, there were few signs yet of a campaign that could take Scotland out of the United Kingdom. A large Y-E-S hung in separate letters from a tree on the road from Coldstream to Kelso. There wasn't a N-O to match it, but Kelso town hall flew both the saltire and the union jack.

Etymology

From Middle English sawtoure, from Old French sautoir (“stile, saltire”) (compare French sautoir (“saltire”)), from sauter (“to jump, to leap”) + -oir (subject forming nouns denoting physical objects from verbs), from Latin saltāre (“to dance, to jump”) + -orium, -oria.

Synonyms

crux decussataSaint Andrew's cross

This word in other languages

sautoir(Français)Andreaskreuz(Deutsch)

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 "saltire"?
"saltire" is spelled S-A-L-T-I-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsæl.taɪə/.
What does "saltire" mean?
As a noun, "saltire" means: An ordinary (geometric design) in the shape of an X. It usually occupies the entire field in which it is placed.
How do you pronounce "saltire"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "saltire" is /ˈsæl.taɪə/. 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 "saltire"?
From Middle English sawtoure, from Old French sautoir (“stile, saltire”) (compare French sautoir (“saltire”)), from sauter (“to jump, to leap”) + -oir (subject forming nouns denoting physical objects from verbs), from Latin saltāre (“to dance, to ... 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 "saltire", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Schenck#60,446shafted#60,456shrivel#60,470sneered#60,478

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list