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token

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

5 characters

Language

English

word origin

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "token", 5-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "token" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "token" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

token is aEnglishnoun. It means: Something serving as an expression of something else. Pronounced /ˈtəʊkən/. It ranks #9,410 in English word frequency. Often confused with ton and town.

Key facts for token
PropertyValue
Headwordtoken
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtəʊkən/
Letters5
Frequency rank#9,410
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of token in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for token is 5 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈtəʊkən/. Corpus data places it at rank #9,410 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 27 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 7 documented wrong-spelling variants for token, with forms such as "otken", "tkoen", and "toekn". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ton", "town", "tone", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English token, taken, from Old English tācn (“sign, symbol”), from Proto-West Germanic *taikn, from Proto-Germanic *taikną (“indicator, symbol, sign”), from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- (“to show, instruct, teach”) with Germanic *k rather than *h … Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is token, spelled T-O-K-E-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Something serving as an expression of something else.
  2. 2
    A keepsake.
  3. 3
    A piece of stamped metal or plastic, etc., used as a form of currency; a voucher that can be exchanged for goods or services.
  4. 4
    A small physical object, often designed to give the appearance of a common thing, used to represent a person or character in a board game or other situation.
  5. 5
    A minor attempt for appearance's sake, or to minimally comply with a requirement; a formality.
  6. 6
    A minor attempt for appearance's sake, or to minimally comply with a requirement; a formality.
  7. 7
    Evidence, proof; a confirming detail; physical trace, mark, footprint.
  8. 8
    Support for a belief; grounds for an opinion.
  9. 9
    An extraordinary event serving as evidence of supernatural power.
  10. 10
    An object or disclosure to attest or authenticate the bearer or an instruction.
  11. 11
    A seal guaranteeing the quality of an item.
  12. 12
    Something given or shown as a symbol or guarantee of authority or right; a sign of authenticity, of power, good faith.
  13. 13
    A tally.
  14. 14
    A particular thing to which a concept applies.
  15. 15
    An atomic piece of data, such as a word, for which a meaning may be inferred during parsing.
  16. 16
    A conceptual object that can be possessed by a computer, process, etc. in order to regulate a turn-taking system such as a token ring network.
  17. 17
    A meaningless placeholder used as a substitute for sensitive data.
  18. 18
    A lexeme; a basic, grammatically indivisible unit of a language such as a keyword, operator or identifier.
  19. 19
    A single example of a certain word in a text or corpus.
  20. 20
    A characteristic sign of a disease or of a bodily disorder, a symptom; a sign of a bodily condition, recovery, or health.
  21. 21
    A livid spot upon the body, indicating, or supposed to indicate, the approach of death.
  22. 22
    Ten and a half quires, or, commonly, 250 sheets, of paper printed on both sides; also, in some cases, the same number of sheets printed on one side, or half the number printed on both sides.
  23. 23
    A bit of leather having a peculiar mark designating a particular miner. Each hewer sent one of these with each corf or tub he had hewn.
  24. 24
    A thin bed of coal indicating the existence of a thicker seam at no great distance.
  25. 25
    A physical object used for exchange between drivers and signalmen on single track lines.
  26. 26
    In a loom, a colored signal to show the weaver which shuttle to use.
  27. 27
    A piece of metal given beforehand to each person in the congregation who is permitted to partake of the Lord's Supper.

Etymology

From Middle English token, taken, from Old English tācn (“sign, symbol”), from Proto-West Germanic *taikn, from Proto-Germanic *taikną (“indicator, symbol, sign”), from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- (“to show, instruct, teach”) with Germanic *k rather than *h by Kluge's law. Cognate with Scots takin, taiken (“token, sign”), Saterland Frisian Teken (“sign, symbol”), West Frisian teken (“sign, mark, symbol”), Dutch teken (“sign, indication, symbol”), German Low German Teken (“sign, symbol”), German Zeichen (“sign, token”), Danish tegn (“sign, token, character”), Swedish tecken (“sign, indication”), Faroese tekn, tekin (“mark, sign, signal”), Icelandic teikn (“sign, omen”), Icelandic tákn (“symbol”). The verb is from Middle English toknen, from Old English tācnian.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: otken,tkoen,toekn,tokenn,tokken,tokne,ttoken

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for token

Misspelling Variants of "token"

otken5tkoen5toekn5tokenn6tokken6tokne5ttoken6
Misspelling Variants of "token"

Frequency rank: #9,410 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "token"?
"token" is spelled T-O-K-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtəʊkən/.
What does "token" mean?
As a noun, "token" means: Something serving as an expression of something else.
What words are commonly confused with "token"?
"token" is commonly confused with "ton", "town", "tone". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "token"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "token" is /ˈtəʊkən/. 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 "token"?
From Middle English token, taken, from Old English tācn (“sign, symbol”), from Proto-West Germanic *taikn, from Proto-Germanic *taikną (“indicator, symbol, sign”), from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- (“to show, instruct, teach”) with Germanic *k rathe... 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter T in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.