weald

/wiːld/

//wiːld// noun

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

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

The verdict

“weald” is uncommon English (frequency #67,162 among 1,759 “W” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#67,162
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A forest or wood.

Corpus desk

Index EN-weald · weald · English

weald · rank #67,162 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #67,162
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH Wendi

Nearest frequency peer: Wendi (+3 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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “weald”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “weald” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for weald
PropertyValue
Headwordweald
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/wiːld/
Letters5
Frequency rank#67,162
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “weald” 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). weald lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

weald is uncommon English at frequency #67,162 among 1,759 “W” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /wiːld/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for weald in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English weeld, wæld, (also wold, wald > English wold), from (West Saxon dialect) Old English weald, from Proto-West Germanic *walþu, from Proto-Germanic *walþuz. Compare German Wald, Dutch woud. See also wold, ultimately of the same origin. Larg… The correct English form is weald, spelled W-E-A-L-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A forest or wood.
  2. 2
    An open country.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. [S]he to Almesbury / Fled all night long by glimmering waste and weald, / And heard the Spirits of the waste and weald / Moan as she fled, or thought she heard them moan: […]

Etymology

From Middle English weeld, wæld, (also wold, wald > English wold), from (West Saxon dialect) Old English weald, from Proto-West Germanic *walþu, from Proto-Germanic *walþuz. Compare German Wald, Dutch woud. See also wold, ultimately of the same origin. Largely displaced by forest.

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "weald"?
"weald" is spelled W-E-A-L-D. The IPA pronunciation is /wiːld/.
What does "weald" mean?
As a noun, "weald" means: A forest or wood.
How do you pronounce "weald"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "weald" is /wiːld/. 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 "weald"?
From Middle English weeld, wæld, (also wold, wald > English wold), from (West Saxon dialect) Old English weald, from Proto-West Germanic *walþu, from Proto-Germanic *walþuz. Compare German Wald, Dutch woud. See also wold, ultimately of the same or... 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 "weald", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Wendi#67,165velar#67,148Wogan#67,177vanes#67,142

What to do next

You've looked up "weald". Here's where to go from here.

  • Usage frequency rank #67,162 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
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PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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