ergastule
\ɛʁ.ɡas.tyl\
The verdict
“ergastule” 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) - Prison où l’on enfermait les esclaves condamnés à des travaux pénibles.
Corpus desk
Index FR-ergastule · ergastule · French
ergastule · 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 "E" 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 | ergastule |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \ɛʁ.ɡas.tyl\ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « ergastule » en français
Rare enough to double-check
ergastule is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ɛʁ.ɡas.tyl\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for ergastule in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is ergastule, spelled E-R-G-A-S-T-U-L-E.
Definition
- 1Prison où l’on enfermait les esclaves condamnés à des travaux pénibles.
- 2Atelier où travaillent des esclaves.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how ergastule appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Un ergastule pouvoit contenir jusqu'à quinze hommes: ceux qui y étoient confinés, s'appelloient ergastules, & leur geolier, ergastulaire.
Ô Sylvius, il y a toujours des râles au fond des ergastules, des rugissements dans les cages ouvertes d’où bondissait la mort farouche ; il y a des clameurs inhumaines dans l’air qui ronge les marbres désunis et la terre, ivre encore du sang qu’elle a bu, me renvoie les affres de tant d’agonies.
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.