wavelet
"wavelet" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“wavelet” is uncommon English (frequency #60,562 among 1,759 “W” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #60,562
- frequency rank, English
- 1,759
- “W” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A small wave; a ripple.
Corpus desk
Index EN-wavelet · wavelet · English
wavelet · rank #60,562 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #60,562
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 1,759
- PHOTO-FINISH Wausau
Nearest frequency peer: Wausau (-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 “wavelet”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- warding
warding
39,444 corpus weight
- warily
warily
39,443 corpus weight
- warr
warr
39,442 corpus weight
- Wausau
Wausau
39,440 corpus weight
- wavelet
wavelet
39,439 corpus weight
- webmaster
webmaster
39,438 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “wavelet” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | wavelet |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #60,562 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “wavelet” in English
Rare enough to double-check
wavelet is uncommon English at frequency #60,562 among 1,759 “W” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
wavelet doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From wave + -let; a calque of French ondelette, from onde (“wave”) + -ette (diminutive suffix). The correct English form is wavelet, spelled W-A-V-E-L-E-T.
Definition
- 1A small wave; a ripple.
- 2A fast-decaying oscillation.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how wavelet appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
1851, “Speaker’s Meaning dimly descried” (Fragment) in Poems, London: William Pickering, p. 110, I know not whether I see your meaning: if I do, it lies Upon the wordy wavelets of your voice, Dim as an evening shadow in a brook, When the least moon has silver on’t no larger Than the pure white of Hebe’s nail.
1856, Herman Melville, “The Piazza” in The Piazza Tales, New York: Dix & Edwards, pp. 6-7, […] long ground-swells roll the slanting grain, and little wavelets of grass ripple over upon the low piazza, as their beach, and the blown down of dandelions is wafted like the spray […]
Etymology
From wave + -let; a calque of French ondelette, from onde (“wave”) + -ette (diminutive suffix).
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "wavelet", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).