shawm
/ʃɔːm/
"shawm" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“shawm” 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 mediaeval double-reed wind instrument with a conical wooden body.
Corpus desk
Index EN-shawm · shawm · English
shawm · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | shawm |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ʃɔːm/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “shawm” in English
Rare enough to double-check
shawm is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ʃɔːm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A mediaeval double-reed wind instrument with a conical wooden body.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for shawm, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English shalmuse, from Old French chalemel (modern French chalumeau), from Late Latin calamellus, from Latin calamus (“reed”), from Ancient Greek κάλαμος (kálamos). Doublet of caramel, chalumeau, and qalam, as well as related to calame, calamus,… The correct English form is shawm, spelled S-H-A-W-M.
Definition
- 1A mediaeval double-reed wind instrument with a conical wooden body.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how shawm appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
And all the field is thick with companies Of fair-clothed men that play on shawms and lutes And gather honey of the yellow fruits Between the branches waxen soft and wide
There are four flutes, a harp of twenty strings, a mournful shawm, and a number of drums of oxhide, some to be struck, others spanked.
Etymology
From Middle English shalmuse, from Old French chalemel (modern French chalumeau), from Late Latin calamellus, from Latin calamus (“reed”), from Ancient Greek κάλαμος (kálamos). Doublet of caramel, chalumeau, and qalam, as well as related to calame, calamus, culm, and haulm.
Synonyms
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.