troth

/tɹəʊθ/

//tɹəʊθ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“troth” is uncommon English (frequency #80,979 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#80,979
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An oath, pledge, plight, or promise.

Corpus desk

Index EN-troth · troth · English

troth · rank #80,979 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #80,979
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH Trost

Nearest frequency peer: Trost (-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 “troth”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for troth
PropertyValue
Headwordtroth
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/tɹəʊθ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#80,979
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “troth” 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).trothfalls 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: “Trost” (#80,978), “Trinh” (#80,976), “Transkei” (#80,974). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “troth” is #80,979. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

troth is uncommon English at frequency #80,979 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /tɹəʊθ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for troth in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, 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 troth, trothe, trouthe, trowthe, a variant of treuth, treuthe, treouthe (“allegiance, fidelity, faithfulness, loyalty; oath, pledge, promise; betrothal or marriage vow; betrothal; honour, integrity; holiness, righteousness; confidence, t… The correct English form is troth, spelled T-R-O-T-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    An oath, pledge, plight, or promise.
  2. 2
    An oath, pledge, plight, or promise.
  3. 3
    An oath, pledge, plight, or promise.
  4. 4
    Truth; something true.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. By my troth I care not, a man can die but once, we owe God a death, [...]
  2. And by my faith and troth I have a good part of a mind to have thee beaten for thine insolence!

Etymology

From Middle English troth, trothe, trouthe, trowthe, a variant of treuth, treuthe, treouthe (“allegiance, fidelity, faithfulness, loyalty; oath, pledge, promise; betrothal or marriage vow; betrothal; honour, integrity; holiness, righteousness; confidence, trust; creed, faith; fact, reality, truth”), from Old English trēowþ, trīewþ (“truth, veracity; faith, fidelity; covenant, pledge”), from Proto-Germanic *triwwiþō (“contract; promise”), equivalent to true + -th (abstract nominal suffix). See more at truth.

This word in other languages

Treueeid(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 "troth"?
"troth" is spelled T-R-O-T-H. The IPA pronunciation is /tɹəʊθ/.
What does "troth" mean?
As a noun, "troth" means: An oath, pledge, plight, or promise.
How do you pronounce "troth"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "troth" is /tɹəʊθ/. 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 "troth"?
From Middle English troth, trothe, trouthe, trowthe, a variant of treuth, treuthe, treouthe (“allegiance, fidelity, faithfulness, loyalty; oath, pledge, promise; betrothal or marriage vow; betrothal; honour, integrity; holiness, righteousness; con... 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 "troth", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Trost#80,978Trinh#80,976toady#80,965venta#81,009

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list