sapling

/ˈsæplɪŋ/

//ˈsæplɪŋ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“sapling” is uncommon English (frequency #54,456 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#54,456
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A young tree, larger than a seedling.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sapling · sapling · English

sapling · rank #54,456 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #54,456
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Santino

Nearest frequency peer: Santino (-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 “sapling”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for sapling
PropertyValue
Headwordsapling
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsæplɪŋ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#54,456
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “sapling” 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).saplingfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Santino” (#54,455), “Sakamoto” (#54,454), “saccharine” (#54,453). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sapling” is #54,456. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sapling is uncommon English at frequency #54,456 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsæplɪŋ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for sapling, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English saplyng, seplyng, sapling, equivalent to sap + -ling. The correct English form is sapling, spelled S-A-P-L-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    A young tree, larger than a seedling.
  2. 2
    A youngster, especially a male nearing maturity.

Etymology

From Middle English saplyng, seplyng, sapling, equivalent to sap + -ling.

This word in other languages

pimpollo(Español)arbrisseau(Français)Setzling(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 "sapling"?
"sapling" is spelled S-A-P-L-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsæplɪŋ/.
What does "sapling" mean?
As a noun, "sapling" means: A young tree, larger than a seedling.
How do you pronounce "sapling"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sapling" is /ˈsæplɪŋ/. 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 "sapling"?
From Middle English saplyng, seplyng, sapling, equivalent to sap + -ling. 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 "sapling", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Santino#54,455Ruffalo#54,448seaward#54,468snicker#54,494

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list