ergot

\ɛʁ.ɡo\

/\ɛʁ.ɡo\/ noun

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

The verdict

“ergot” is uncommon French (frequency #63,728 among 201,161 “E” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#63,728
frequency rank, French
201,161
“E” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Petit éperon pointu osseux et corné de la patte des oiseaux galliformes mâles.

Corpus desk

Index FR-ergot · ergot · French

ergot · rank #63,728 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #63,728
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 201,161
  • PHOTO-FINISH entretenez

Nearest frequency peer: entretenez (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “ergot”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “ergot” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026
Key facts for ergot
PropertyValue
Headwordergot
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ɛʁ.ɡo\
Letters5
Frequency rank#63,728
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ergot” 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). ergot 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

ergot is uncommon French at frequency #63,728 among 201,161 “E” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \ɛʁ.ɡo\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 7 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for ergot, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, 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 ergot, spelled E-R-G-O-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Petit éperon pointu osseux et corné de la patte des oiseaux galliformes mâles.
  2. 2
    Doigt supplémentaire chez certaines races de chiens
  3. 3
    Petite pièce servant de butée ou de clavette sur une pièce plus massive.
  4. 4
    Petite pièce mobile placée à droite et à gauche sous un clavier d'ordinateur permettant d'incliner celui-ci lorsqu'il est posé sur un bureau.
  5. 5
    Petite branche morte d’un arbre fruitier.
  6. 6
    Maladie cryptogamique qui attaque le blé, le seigle et qui rend dangereux le pain qu’on fait de ce grain ainsi gâté→ voir ergot de seigle.
  7. 7
    Petit trait horizontal rattaché le plus souvent à gauche du fut de la lettre minuscule s long, de la lettre minuscule eszett, ou de la lettre minuscule l dans certaines polices de caractères.

Synonyms

sécante

This word in other languages

spur(English)espolón(Español)Sporn(Deutsch)

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ergot"?
"ergot" is spelled E-R-G-O-T. The IPA pronunciation is \ɛʁ.ɡo\.
What does "ergot" mean?
As a noun, "ergot" means: Petit éperon pointu osseux et corné de la patte des oiseaux galliformes mâles.
How do you pronounce "ergot"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ergot" is \ɛʁ.ɡo\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ergot" come from?
"ergot" 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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Fanni#63,740faris#63,743eller#63,712favor#63,744
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