thrall

/θɹɔːl/

//θɹɔːl// noun

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

"thrall" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“thrall” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #37,252. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#37,252
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Slave; one under the control of another.

Corpus desk

Index EN-thrall · thrall · English

thrall · rank #37,252 · 8 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #37,252
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH there're

Nearest frequency peer: there're (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “thrall”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “thrall” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

thrall vs trail
67% similar
thrall vs troll
67% similar
thrall vs trill
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for thrall
PropertyValue
Headwordthrall
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/θɹɔːl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#37,252
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “thrall”

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).thralllands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “there're” (#37,251), “throng” (#37,253), “Tianjin” (#37,254). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “thrall” is #37,252. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around thrall (IPA /θɹɔːl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #37,252 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for thrall, with forms such as "htrall", "tharll", and "thhrall". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "trail", "troll", "trill", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English thral, thralle, threl, threlle, from Old English þrǣl (“thrall, slave, servant”), from Old Norse þræll (“slave”), from Proto-Germanic *þrahilaz, *þragilaz, *þrigilaz (“runner, gofer, servant”), from Proto-Indo-European *tregʰ- (“to pull,… The correct English form is thrall, spelled T-H-R-A-L-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Slave; one under the control of another.
  2. 2
    The state of being under the control of another person.
  3. 3
    A shelf; a stand for barrels, etc.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. My father was always a thrall to alcohol.
  2. My servant, which that is my thrall by right

Etymology

From Middle English thral, thralle, threl, threlle, from Old English þrǣl (“thrall, slave, servant”), from Old Norse þræll (“slave”), from Proto-Germanic *þrahilaz, *þragilaz, *þrigilaz (“runner, gofer, servant”), from Proto-Indo-European *tregʰ- (“to pull, drag, race, run”), possibly a variant of *dʰregʰ- (“to run”); related to Gothic 𐌸𐍂𐌰𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (þragjan), Old English þrǣġan (“to run”).

This word in other languages

esclavo(Español)esclave(Français)Leibeigene(Deutsch)servo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • htrall
  • tharll
  • thhrall
  • thral
  • thrlal
  • thrrall
  • trhall
  • tthrall

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of thrall - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

htrall2tharll2thhrall1thral1thrlal2thrrall1trhall2tthrall1
Edit distance from "thrall"

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 "thrall"?
"thrall" is spelled T-H-R-A-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is /θɹɔːl/.
What does "thrall" mean?
As a noun, "thrall" means: Slave; one under the control of another.
What words are commonly confused with "thrall"?
"thrall" is commonly confused with "trail", "troll", "trill". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "thrall"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "thrall" is /θɹɔːl/. 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 "thrall"?
From Middle English thral, thralle, threl, threlle, from Old English þrǣl (“thrall, slave, servant”), from Old Norse þræll (“slave”), from Proto-Germanic *þrahilaz, *þragilaz, *þrigilaz (“runner, gofer, servant”), from Proto-Indo-European *tregʰ- ... 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 "thrall", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

throng#37,253squint#37,233verily#37,272Snoopy#37,229

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

tongs8 variantsWilkie8 variantsreassess8 variantsradium8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list