basse-cour

\bas.kuʁ\

/\bas.kuʁ\/ noun

The verdict

“basse-cour” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Cour d’une ferme, où l’on entasse le fumier, où se trouve assez ordinairement une mare d’eau et où l’on nourrit la volaille, etc.

Corpus desk

Index FR-basse-cour · basse-cour · French

basse-cour · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "B" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for basse-cour
PropertyValue
Headwordbasse-cour
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\bas.kuʁ\
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « basse-cour » en français

basse-courreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

basse-cour is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \bas.kuʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

basse-cour has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is basse-cour, spelled B-A-S-S-E---C-O-U-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Cour d’une ferme, où l’on entasse le fumier, où se trouve assez ordinairement une mare d’eau et où l’on nourrit la volaille, etc.
  2. 2
    Lieu d'élevage de la volaille et de l'aumaille.
  3. 3
    Les animaux domestiques, volaille essentiellement, qui y résident.
  4. 4
    Maison de campagne des particuliers, cour destinée à des usages qui ont quelques rapports avec ceux des cours de fermes.
  5. 5
    Cour intérieure d’une forteresse.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Une basse-cour, une étable, des toits à porcs faisaient face à la maison.
  2. Les volailles et autres animaux de basse-cour qui s’enfuient dans les propriétés voisines ne cessent pas d’appartenir à leur maître quoi qu’il les ait perdus de vue.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "basse-cour"?
"basse-cour" is spelled B-A-S-S-E---C-O-U-R. The IPA pronunciation is \bas.kuʁ\.
What does "basse-cour" mean?
As a noun, "basse-cour" means: Cour d’une ferme, où l’on entasse le fumier, où se trouve assez ordinairement une mare d’eau et où l’on nourrit la volaille, etc.
How do you pronounce "basse-cour"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "basse-cour" is \bas.kuʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "basse-cour" come from?
"basse-cour" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list