veil

/veɪl/

//veɪl// noun

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

"veil" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“veil” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #11,994 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#11,994
frequency rank, English
4
letters
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Something hung up or spread out to hide or protect the face, or hide an object from view; usually of gauze, crepe, or similar diaphanous material.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

veil vs vi
50% similar
veil vs via
50% similar
veil vs vol
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for veil
PropertyValue
Headwordveil
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/veɪl/
Letters4
Frequency rank#11,994
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “veil” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). veil lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for veil is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /veɪl/. Corpus data places it at rank #11,994 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for veil, with forms such as "veill", "veli", and "viel". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "vi", "via", "vol", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English veil, veyl, from Anglo-Norman and Old Northern French veil (“sail, veil, shroud”) (Francien Old French voil, French voile), Latin vēlum (“cloth, covering”). Displaced Middle English scleire, scleyre, sleyre, slyre (“veil”) (compare Germa… The correct English form is veil, spelled V-E-I-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Something hung up or spread out to hide or protect the face, or hide an object from view; usually of gauze, crepe, or similar diaphanous material.
  2. 2
    Anything that partially obscures a clear view.
  3. 3
    A cover; disguise; a mask; a pretense.
  4. 4
    A covering for a person or thing; as, a caul (especially over the head)
  5. 5
    The calyptra of mosses.
  6. 6
    velum (A circular membrane round the cap of a medusa).
  7. 7
    A thin layer of tissue which is attached to or covers a mushroom.
  8. 8
    A membrane connecting the margin of the pileus of a mushroom with the stalk; a velum.
  9. 9
    An obscuration of the clearness of the tones in pronunciation.
  10. 10
    That which separates the living and the spirit world.

Etymology

From Middle English veil, veyl, from Anglo-Norman and Old Northern French veil (“sail, veil, shroud”) (Francien Old French voil, French voile), Latin vēlum (“cloth, covering”). Displaced Middle English scleire, scleyre, sleyre, slyre (“veil”) (compare German Schleier). Doublet of velum and voile.

This word in other languages

velo(Español)voile(Français)Vorhang(Deutsch)véu(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: veill,veli,viel,vveil

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of veil - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

veill1veli2viel2vveil1
Edit distance from "veil"

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 "veil"?
"veil" is spelled V-E-I-L. The IPA pronunciation is /veɪl/.
What does "veil" mean?
As a noun, "veil" means: Something hung up or spread out to hide or protect the face, or hide an object from view; usually of gauze, crepe, or similar diaphanous material.
What words are commonly confused with "veil"?
"veil" is commonly confused with "vi", "via", "vol". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "veil"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "veil" is /veɪl/. 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 "veil"?
From Middle English veil, veyl, from Anglo-Norman and Old Northern French veil (“sail, veil, shroud”) (Francien Old French voil, French voile), Latin vēlum (“cloth, covering”). Displaced Middle English scleire, scleyre, sleyre, slyre (“veil”) (com... 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.

Using “veil”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is V-E-I-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /veɪl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “vi” - see the side-by-side comparison. veil vs vi
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list