cordeau

\kɔʁ.do\

/\kɔʁ.do\/ noun

The verdict

“cordeau” is an uncommon French word, ranked #53,231 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#53,231
frequency rank, French
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Petite corde tendue par ses extrémités afin de matérialiser une ligne droite.

Key facts for cordeau
PropertyValue
Headwordcordeau
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\kɔʁ.do\
Letters7
Frequency rank#53,231
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “cordeau” 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). cordeau lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for cordeau is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \kɔʁ.do\. Corpus data places it at rank #53,231 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

cordeau doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is cordeau, spelled C-O-R-D-E-A-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    Petite corde tendue par ses extrémités afin de matérialiser une ligne droite.
  2. 2
    Petite corde dont se servent les maçons, les jardiniers, les charpentiers pour tracer des lignes droites, pour aligner.
  3. 3
    , expression désignant une chose impeccable.
  4. 4
    Ligne de fond pour la pêche fluviale, par exemple pour la pêche aux anguilles.
  5. 5
    Mèche utilisée avec des explosifs ou comme explosif.
  6. 6
    Rêne pour diriger un cheval.

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); 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 "cordeau"?
"cordeau" is spelled C-O-R-D-E-A-U. The IPA pronunciation is \kɔʁ.do\.
What does "cordeau" mean?
As a noun, "cordeau" means: Petite corde tendue par ses extrémités afin de matérialiser une ligne droite.
How do you pronounce "cordeau"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cordeau" is \kɔʁ.do\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "cordeau" come from?
"cordeau" 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 “cordeau”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is C-O-R-D-E-A-U - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \kɔʁ.do\ (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
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list