shako

/ˈʃeɪkəʊ/

//ˈʃeɪkəʊ// noun

"shako" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shako” 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) - A stiff, cylindrical military dress hat with a metal plate in front, a short visor, and a plume.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shako · shako · English

shako · 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 "S" 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.

Key facts for shako
PropertyValue
Headwordshako
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈʃeɪkəʊ/
Letters5
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “shako” in English

shakofalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

shako is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈʃeɪkəʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for shako, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French shako, from Hungarian csákó (“cylindrical military dress hat worn by the Hungarian hussars from the 18th century to World War I”). The correct English form is shako, spelled S-H-A-K-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    A stiff, cylindrical military dress hat with a metal plate in front, a short visor, and a plume.
  2. 2
    A bearskin or busby.

Etymology

Borrowed from French shako, from Hungarian csákó (“cylindrical military dress hat worn by the Hungarian hussars from the 18th century to World War I”).

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "shako"?
"shako" is spelled S-H-A-K-O. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʃeɪkəʊ/.
What does "shako" mean?
As a noun, "shako" means: A stiff, cylindrical military dress hat with a metal plate in front, a short visor, and a plume.
How do you pronounce "shako"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "shako" is /ˈʃeɪkəʊ/. 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 "shako"?
Borrowed from French shako, from Hungarian csákó (“cylindrical military dress hat worn by the Hungarian hussars from the 18th century to World War I”). 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list