bancal
French, adjective/bɑ̃.kal/
bancal is spelled B-A-N-C-A-L (6 letters) and appears about once in every 1 million words in written French, the 35,423rd most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Bancal is a French adjective meaning “bow-legged, bandy-legged (of person)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Qui a une jambe ou les jambes tordues, en parlant d'une personne ou d'un animal”.
What does bancal mean in English?
adjective
- 1
bow-legged, bandy-legged (of person)
- 2
rickety, wobbly (of table etc.)
- 3
shaky, unclear, illogical
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. Qui a une jambe ou les jambes tordues, en parlant d'une personne ou d'un animal. 2. Boiteux, tordu, déséquilibré. 3. Qui n'est pas d’aplomb, en parlant d'un objet. 4. Qui manque de clarté, de logique, de rigueur.
noun: 1. Personne ayant une ou les deux jambes tordues. 2. Sabre recourbé.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of bancal
- bancale feminine
- bancals masculine plural
- bancales feminine plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce bancal?
- /bɑ̃.kal/
- \bɑ̃.kal\
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to bancal
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is bancal in French?
bancal appears about once in every 1 million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).