étoile de mer

\e.twal də mɛʁ\

/\e.twal də mɛʁ\/ noun

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Animal marin échinoderme.

Corpus desk

Index FR-etoile-de-mer · étoile de mer · French

étoile de mer · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "É" 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.

Key facts for étoile de mer
PropertyValue
Headwordétoile de mer
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\e.twal də mɛʁ\
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « étoile de mer » en français

étoile de merreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

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

Rare enough to double-check

étoile de mer is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \e.twal də mɛʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for étoile de mer in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is étoile de mer, spelled É-T-O-I-L-E- -D-E- -M-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Animal marin échinoderme.
  2. 2
    Position du Kâmasûtra qui commence avec la personne réceptive allongée sur le dos une jambe pliée et une jambe tendue, et la personne insertive, assise sur la jambe tendue.
  3. 3
    Position passive d’un partenaire allongé sur le dos, les bras et les jambes écartés, en forme d’étoile de mer.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Des étoiles de mer du plus beau carmin, des ophyures grisâtres aux cinq rayons grêles et allongés, se cachaient sous les pierres.
  2. La bêche-de-mer, c’est ce que les anglophones appellent le Cucumber Sea (ou “concombre de mer”), et les habitants d’Extrême-Orient le tripang. Il s’agit en fait d’une grosse holothurie, animal marin très proche de l’étoile de mer.

Synonyms

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "étoile de mer"?
"étoile de mer" is spelled É-T-O-I-L-E- -D-E- -M-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \e.twal də mɛʁ\.
What does "étoile de mer" mean?
As a noun, "étoile de mer" means: Animal marin échinoderme.
How do you pronounce "étoile de mer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "étoile de mer" is \e.twal də mɛʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "étoile de mer" come from?
"étoile de mer" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list