extern

\ˌɛksˈtɛʁn\

/\ˌɛksˈtɛʁn\/ adj

The verdict

“extern” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Externe, qui est à ou vient de l’extérieur.

Corpus desk

Index FR-extern · extern · French

extern · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 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.

Key facts for extern
PropertyValue
Headwordextern
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\ˌɛksˈtɛʁn\
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « extern » en français

externreste 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

extern is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \ˌɛksˈtɛʁn\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Externe, qui est à ou vient de l’extérieur.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for extern, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is extern, spelled E-X-T-E-R-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Externe, qui est à ou vient de l’extérieur.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Ich sichere regelmässig meine Daten auf ein externes Laufwerk.
  2. Nach der Ausfall unserer Produktionsanlage müssten wir eine externe Alternative suchen.

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 "extern"?
"extern" is spelled E-X-T-E-R-N. The IPA pronunciation is \ˌɛksˈtɛʁn\.
What does "extern" mean?
As an adjective, "extern" means: Externe, qui est à ou vient de l’extérieur.
How do you pronounce "extern"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "extern" is \ˌɛksˈtɛʁn\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "extern" come from?
"extern" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list