esprit de clocher

\ɛs.pʁi də klɔ.ʃe\

/\ɛs.pʁi də klɔ.ʃe\/ noun

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

The verdict

“esprit de clocher” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
17
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Attachement prévalent à son village, à sa localité.

Key facts for esprit de clocher
PropertyValue
Headwordesprit de clocher
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ɛs.pʁi də klɔ.ʃe\
Letters17
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “esprit de clocher” sits in French frequency

esprit de clocher falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

esprit de clocher is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ɛs.pʁi də klɔ.ʃe\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Attachement prévalent à son village, à sa localité.".

No misspelling variants are generated for esprit de clocher in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is esprit de clocher, spelled E-S-P-R-I-T- -D-E- -C-L-O-C-H-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Attachement prévalent à son village, à sa localité.

Synonyms

campanilismechauvinismepatriotisme

This word in other languages

parochialism(English)aldeanismo(Español)

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "esprit de clocher"?
"esprit de clocher" is spelled E-S-P-R-I-T- -D-E- -C-L-O-C-H-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \ɛs.pʁi də klɔ.ʃe\.
What does "esprit de clocher" mean?
As a noun, "esprit de clocher" means: Attachement prévalent à son village, à sa localité.
How do you pronounce "esprit de clocher"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "esprit de clocher" is \ɛs.pʁi də klɔ.ʃe\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "esprit de clocher" come from?
"esprit de clocher" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 “esprit de clocher”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is E-S-P-R-I-T- -D-E- -C-L-O-C-H-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ɛs.pʁi də klɔ.ʃe\ (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