cathedral

\kəˈθiː.dɹəl\

/\kəˈθiː.dɹəl\/ adj

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

The verdict

“cathedral” is uncommon French (frequency #83,694 among 257,141 “C” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#83,694
frequency rank, French
257,141
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Qui concerne le trône d'un évêque.

Key facts for cathedral
PropertyValue
Headwordcathedral
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\kəˈθiː.dɹəl\
Letters9
Frequency rank#83,694
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “cathedral” sits in French 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). cathedral 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

cathedral is uncommon French at frequency #83,694 among 257,141 “C” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed \kəˈθiː.dɹəl\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Qui concerne le trône d'un évêque.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for cathedral, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

No documented word history exists for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is cathedral, spelled C-A-T-H-E-D-R-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui concerne le trône d'un évêque.

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cathedral"?
"cathedral" is spelled C-A-T-H-E-D-R-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is \kəˈθiː.dɹəl\.
What does "cathedral" mean?
As an adjective, "cathedral" means: Qui concerne le trône d'un évêque.
How do you pronounce "cathedral"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cathedral" is \kəˈθiː.dɹəl\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "cathedral" come from?
"cathedral" 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.

Using “cathedral”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is C-A-T-H-E-D-R-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \kəˈθiː.dɹəl\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Other uncommon French words near this rank

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