catacombe
\ka.ta.kɔ̃b\
The verdict
“catacombe” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Cavité souterraine ou excavation d’anciennes carrières qui a servi quelquefois de sépulture ou d’ossuaire.
Corpus desk
Index FR-catacombe · catacombe · French
catacombe · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "C" 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | catacombe |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \ka.ta.kɔ̃b\ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « catacombe » en français
Rare enough to double-check
catacombe is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ka.ta.kɔ̃b\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Cavité souterraine ou excavation d’anciennes carrières qui a servi quelquefois de sépulture ou d’ossuaire.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for catacombe, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is catacombe, spelled C-A-T-A-C-O-M-B-E.
Definition
- 1Cavité souterraine ou excavation d’anciennes carrières qui a servi quelquefois de sépulture ou d’ossuaire.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how catacombe appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
On sait qu’Issoire est le nom d’un fameux brigand […]. Il fut un peu pendu, à ce que je crois, et enterré à l’endroit qui porte aujourd’hui son nom, à quelque distance de l’entrée des catacombes.
Personne ne croit plus que les chrétiens se réfugiaient dans des carrières souterraines pour échapper aux perquisitions de la police ; les catacombes furent creusées, à très grands frais, par des communautés disposant d'importantes ressources, […].
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.