toque

/təʊk/

//təʊk// noun

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

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

The verdict

“toque” is uncommon English (frequency #81,911 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#81,911
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A type of hat with no brim.

Corpus desk

Index EN-toque · toque · English

toque · rank #81,911 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #81,911
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH Tooley

Nearest frequency peer: Tooley (-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 “toque”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “toque” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for toque
PropertyValue
Headwordtoque
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/təʊk/
Letters5
Frequency rank#81,911
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “toque” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).toquefalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Tooley” (#81,909), “toty” (#81,914), “Toohey” (#81,907). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “toque” is #81,911. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

toque is uncommon English at frequency #81,911 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /təʊk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for toque, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French toque (“toque”), from Arabic طَاقِيَّة (ṭāqiyya). The correct English form is toque, spelled T-O-Q-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A type of hat with no brim.
  2. 2
    A tall white hat with no brim of the sort worn by chefs.
  3. 3
    A chef.
  4. 4
    A variety of bonnet monkey; toque macaque, Macaca sinica.
  5. 5
    An African nominal money of account, equal to 40 cowries.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Toques are for the most part indented in the mural style, in two rows, between which are placed marabout feathers. Flowers, feathers, ears of corn, in gold or silver: such are the chief ornaments on the heads of young ladies, either as separate decorations or all blended together. Black velvet toques are ornamented with marabout feathers of a light grey,…
  2. "Because Esmé said she was going out this afternoon to choose a new toque, and she hoped I should like it, and I’m not quite sure what it is, or where she'll wear it. Do you mind explaining?" "Not at all. A toque is that which if it had strings would be a bonnet, and if it had brim, would be a hat. It is worn on the head." "Thanks, now I know where I am,"…

Etymology

From Middle French toque (“toque”), from Arabic طَاقِيَّة (ṭāqiyya).

This word in other languages

toque(Français)Kochmütze(Deutsch)

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 "toque"?
"toque" is spelled T-O-Q-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is /təʊk/.
What does "toque" mean?
As a noun, "toque" means: A type of hat with no brim.
How do you pronounce "toque"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "toque" is /təʊk/. 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 "toque"?
From Middle French toque (“toque”), from Arabic طَاقِيَّة (ṭāqiyya). 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 "toque", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Trudi#81,923Udine#81,934Vizag#81,963weeny#81,972

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list