tarragon
/ˈtæɹəɡɑn/
"tarragon" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“tarragon” is uncommon English (frequency #54,524 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #54,524
- frequency rank, English
- 3,151
- “T” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A perennial herb, the wormwood species Artemisia dracunculus, from Europe and parts of Asia.
Corpus desk
Index EN-tarragon · tarragon · English
tarragon · rank #54,524 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #54,524
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,151
- PHOTO-FINISH tamale
Nearest frequency peer: tamale (-2 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 “tarragon”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- swisher
swisher
45,481 corpus weight
- swooning
swooning
45,480 corpus weight
- tamale
tamale
45,479 corpus weight
- tarragon
tarragon
45,477 corpus weight
- termini
termini
45,474 corpus weight
- testable
testable
45,473 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “tarragon” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | tarragon |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈtæɹəɡɑn/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #54,524 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “tarragon” in English
Rare enough to double-check
tarragon is uncommon English at frequency #54,524 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈtæɹəɡɑn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for tarragon, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French targon (cf. modern estragon), from Medieval Latin tragonia, from Arabic طَرْخُون (ṭarḵūn), ultimately from Ancient Greek δρακόντιον (drakóntion, “dragonwort, Dracunculus vulgaris”), from δράκων (drákōn, “dragon, serpent”). Double… The correct English form is tarragon, spelled T-A-R-R-A-G-O-N.
Definition
- 1A perennial herb, the wormwood species Artemisia dracunculus, from Europe and parts of Asia.
- 2The leaves of this plant (either fresh, or preserved in a vinegar/oil mixture) used as a seasoning.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how tarragon appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Herbs like tarragon are better preserved in vinegar, since tarragon loses its flavor when dried.
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French targon (cf. modern estragon), from Medieval Latin tragonia, from Arabic طَرْخُون (ṭarḵūn), ultimately from Ancient Greek δρακόντιον (drakóntion, “dragonwort, Dracunculus vulgaris”), from δράκων (drákōn, “dragon, serpent”). Doublet of estragon.
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); 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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "tarragon", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).