fer de lance
\fɛʁ də lɑ̃s\
The verdict
“fer de lance” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Pointe en fer, attachée au bout d’une flèche, d’une lance, ou d’une pique.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | fer de lance |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \fɛʁ də lɑ̃s\ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “fer de lance” sits in French frequency
Rare enough to double-check
fer de lance is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \fɛʁ də lɑ̃s\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for fer de lance, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is fer de lance, spelled F-E-R- -D-E- -L-A-N-C-E.
Definition
- 1Pointe en fer, attachée au bout d’une flèche, d’une lance, ou d’une pique.
- 2Élément le plus dynamique ou actif d’un groupe.
- 3Celui qui est le plus représentatif.
- 4Espèce de serpent, de nom scientifique Bothrops atrox.
- 5Meuble représentant l’arme du même nom dans les armoiries. Elle est généralement représentée en pal, pointe vers le chef. À rapprocher de bocquet, fer de dard, fer de flèche, fer de pique et phéon.
- 6Dont la forme évoque celle d’un fer de lance.
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
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Using “fer de lance”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is F-E-R- -D-E- -L-A-N-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \fɛʁ də lɑ̃s\ (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.