tricolour

/ˈtrɪkələ

//ˈtrɪkələ/ noun

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

"tricolour" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tricolour” is uncommon English (frequency #67,117 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#67,117
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A flag consisting of three stripes that are either vertical or horizontal, all of equal size, and each of a different colour.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tricolour · tricolour · English

tricolour · rank #67,117 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #67,117
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH trivially

Nearest frequency peer: trivially (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “tricolour”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for tricolour
PropertyValue
Headwordtricolour
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtrɪkələ
Letters9
Frequency rank#67,117
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “tricolour” in English

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).tricolourfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “trivially” (#67,118), “Trevino” (#67,115), “transversely” (#67,114). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tricolour” is #67,117. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

tricolour is uncommon English at frequency #67,117 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈtrɪkələ. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for tricolour in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: An anglicisation of the French tricolore; the flag originated in France. Equivalent to tri- + colour. The correct English form is tricolour, spelled T-R-I-C-O-L-O-U-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A flag consisting of three stripes that are either vertical or horizontal, all of equal size, and each of a different colour.
  2. 2
    Anything which is composed of three colours.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Tricolours are seen in the national flags of over twenty countries, including Belgium, France, India, Italy, Russia, The Netherlands and Ireland.
  2. Journalists too were unwelcome and photographers had to conceal cameras. “He’s with the Guardian,” a man in his 60s, holding a tricolour, shouted.

Etymology

An anglicisation of the French tricolore; the flag originated in France. Equivalent to tri- + colour.

This word in other languages

tricolor(Español)tricolore(Français)Trikolore(Deutsch)tricolor(Português)

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 "tricolour"?
"tricolour" is spelled T-R-I-C-O-L-O-U-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtrɪkələ.
What does "tricolour" mean?
As a noun, "tricolour" means: A flag consisting of three stripes that are either vertical or horizontal, all of equal size, and each of a different colour.
How do you pronounce "tricolour"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tricolour" is /ˈtrɪkələ. 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 "tricolour"?
An anglicisation of the French tricolore; the flag originated in France. Equivalent to tri- + colour. 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 "tricolour", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

trivially#67,118turnabout#67,120Stranraer#67,079Strafford#67,078

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list