trefoil
/ˈtɹɛ.fɔɪl/
"trefoil" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“trefoil” is uncommon English (frequency #72,841 among 27,828 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #72,841
- frequency rank, English
- 27,828
- “T” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of several plants of the pea family, having compound, trifoliate leaves; especially one of the genus Trifolium.
Corpus desk
Index EN-trefoil · trefoil · English
trefoil · rank #72,841 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #72,841
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 27,828
- PHOTO-FINISH transdermal
Nearest frequency peer: transdermal (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “trefoil”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- trackage
trackage
27,163 corpus weight
- Trammell
Trammell
27,162 corpus weight
- transdermal
transdermal
27,161 corpus weight
- trefoil
trefoil
27,160 corpus weight
- triune
triune
27,158 corpus weight
- Truong
Truong
27,157 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “trefoil” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | trefoil |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈtɹɛ.fɔɪl/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #72,841 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “trefoil” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
trefoil is uncommon English at frequency #72,841 among 27,828 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈtɹɛ.fɔɪl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for trefoil in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English trefoil, from Old French trifoil, trefeul, from Latin trifolium, from tri- (“three”) + folium (“leaf”). The correct English form is trefoil, spelled T-R-E-F-O-I-L.
Definition
- 1Any of several plants of the pea family, having compound, trifoliate leaves; especially one of the genus Trifolium.
- 2A symbol having the shape of such leaves, especially when used as an architectural ornament.
- 3Ellipsis of trefoil knot.
Etymology
From Middle English trefoil, from Old French trifoil, trefeul, from Latin trifolium, from tri- (“three”) + folium (“leaf”).
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "trefoil", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.