waxwing
/ˈwæksˌwɪŋ/
"waxwing" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“waxwing” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of several songbirds of the genus Bombycilla, having crested heads, and red tips to the wings.
Corpus desk
Index EN-waxwing · waxwing · English
waxwing · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "W" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | waxwing |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈwæksˌwɪŋ/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “waxwing” in English
Rare enough to double-check
waxwing is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈwæksˌwɪŋ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Any of several songbirds of the genus Bombycilla, having crested heads, and red tips to the wings.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for waxwing, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From wax + wing. The correct English form is waxwing, spelled W-A-X-W-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1Any of several songbirds of the genus Bombycilla, having crested heads, and red tips to the wings.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how waxwing appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
I was the shadow of the waxwing slain By the false azure in the windowpane; I was the smudge of ashen fluff—and I Lived on, flew on, in the reflected sky.
Etymology
From wax + wing.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.