cuticule

\ky.ti.kyl\

/\ky.ti.kyl\/ noun

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

The verdict

“cuticule” is uncommon French (frequency #54,512 among 8,609 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#54,512
frequency rank, French
8,609
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Petite peau très mince, pellicule, épiderme.

Corpus desk

Index FR-cuticule · cuticule · French

cuticule · rank #54,512 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #54,512
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,609
  • PHOTO-FINISH custer

Nearest frequency peer: custer (-1 rank slots)

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.

Rangs de longue queue près de « cuticule »

Bande clairsemée: les barres inversent le rang pour que le rare se lise plus court

corpus weight

What this shows Vue de longue queue: où « cuticule » se situe face à des rangs français aussi rares.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cuticule
PropertyValue
Headwordcuticule
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ky.ti.kyl\
Letters8
Frequency rank#54,512
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « cuticule » en français

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).cuticuletombe dans cette queue de rareté:

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

Les tics avancent en logarithme; chacun est de l'ordre de dix fois plus rare. Voisins rares de la même bande: « custer » (#54,511), « cyberattaque » (#54,513), « cymbales » (#54,514). Parmi 8,609 lemmes en « C », « cuticule » est au #54,512. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cuticule is uncommon French at frequency #54,512 among 8,609 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \ky.ti.kyl\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for cuticule in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is cuticule, spelled C-U-T-I-C-U-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Petite peau très mince, pellicule, épiderme.
  2. 2
    Pellicule vernissée formée de cutine qui revêt les tiges et les feuilles des plantes, lui donne un aspect brillant et un caractère hydrophobe.
  3. 3
    Peau qui recouvre le chapeau des champignons supérieurs et qui peut souvent être pelée sans difficulté. Note : Selon le mycologue Régis Courtecuisse, ce terme est impropre et devrait être réservé à la surface vernissée de certains polypores. Cependant, ce terme reste couramment utilisé dans son sens général par les mycologues Guillaume Eyssartier et Pierre Roux.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Les infusoires sont pourvus d’une cuticule.
  2. Les lèvres, c’est revêtu d’une cuticule si fine qu’un anatomiste a pu dire que leurs papilles nerveuses n’étaient pas recouvertes, mais seulement gazées, gazées, c’est son mot, par cet épiderme.

This word in other languages

cuticle(English)

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 "cuticule"?
"cuticule" is spelled C-U-T-I-C-U-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ky.ti.kyl\.
What does "cuticule" mean?
As a noun, "cuticule" means: Petite peau très mince, pellicule, épiderme.
How do you pronounce "cuticule"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cuticule" is \ky.ti.kyl\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "cuticule" come from?
"cuticule" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cuticule", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cymbales#54,514Cranston#54,506delivery#54,519congelée#54,493

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list