fœtal

\fe.tal\

/\fe.tal\/ adj

The verdict

“fœtal” is an uncommon French word, ranked #65,180 in French word frequency and used as an adjective.

#65,180
frequency rank, French
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Qui a rapport au fœtus.

Key facts for fœtal
PropertyValue
Headwordfœtal
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\fe.tal\
Letters5
Frequency rank#65,180
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “fœtal” 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). fœtal lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for fœtal is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \fe.tal\. Corpus data places it at rank #65,180 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Qui a rapport au fœtus.".

Zero misspellings are on record for fœtal in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is fœtal, spelled F-Œ-T-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui a rapport au fœtus.

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); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "fœtal"?
"fœtal" is spelled F-Œ-T-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is \fe.tal\.
What does "fœtal" mean?
As an adjective, "fœtal" means: Qui a rapport au fœtus.
How do you pronounce "fœtal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fœtal" is \fe.tal\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "fœtal" come from?
"fœtal" 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.

Using “fœtal”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is F-Œ-T-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \fe.tal\ (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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list