yawl

/jɔːl/

//jɔːl// noun

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

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

The verdict

“yawl” is uncommon English (frequency #91,161 among 366 “Y” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#91,161
frequency rank, English
366
“Y” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A small ship's boat, usually rowed by four or six oars.

Corpus desk

Index EN-yawl · yawl · English

yawl · rank #91,161 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #91,161
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 366
  • PHOTO-FINISH Yashin

Nearest frequency peer: Yashin (-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 “yawl”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for yawl
PropertyValue
Headwordyawl
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/jɔːl/
Letters4
Frequency rank#91,161
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “yawl” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).yawlfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Yashin” (#91,160), “yammer” (#91,159), “yelped” (#91,163). Among 366 “Y” headwords, “yawl” is #91,161. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

yawl is uncommon English at frequency #91,161 among 366 “Y” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /jɔːl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for yawl, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Apparently from Low German and Middle Low German jolle, or Dutch jol, possibly ultimately from a Proto-Germanic derivative of Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewlos (“tube”), see also Lithuanian aulas, Norwegian aul, Hittite [script needed] (auli-, “tube-shaped organ… The correct English form is yawl, spelled Y-A-W-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A small ship's boat, usually rowed by four or six oars.
  2. 2
    A fore-and-aft rigged sailing vessel with two masts, main and mizzen, the mizzen stepped abaft the rudder post.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. The “Nellie,” a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest.

Etymology

Apparently from Low German and Middle Low German jolle, or Dutch jol, possibly ultimately from a Proto-Germanic derivative of Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewlos (“tube”), see also Lithuanian aulas, Norwegian aul, Hittite [script needed] (auli-, “tube-shaped organ in the neck”), Albanian hollë, Latin alvus.

This word in other languages

yola(Español)yole(Français)Jolle(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 "yawl"?
"yawl" is spelled Y-A-W-L. The IPA pronunciation is /jɔːl/.
What does "yawl" mean?
As a noun, "yawl" means: A small ship's boat, usually rowed by four or six oars.
How do you pronounce "yawl"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "yawl" is /jɔːl/. 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 "yawl"?
Apparently from Low German and Middle Low German jolle, or Dutch jol, possibly ultimately from a Proto-Germanic derivative of Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewlos (“tube”), see also Lithuanian aulas, Norwegian aul, Hittite [script needed] (auli-, “tube-sh... 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 "yawl", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

yiff#91,165Ymir#91,167whir#91,146Zuck#91,178

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list