ferret

\fɛ.ʁɛ\

/\fɛ.ʁɛ\/ noun

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

The verdict

“ferret” has 7 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #42,876. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#42,876
frequency rank, French
3,276
“F” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Enveloppe de métal ou de plastique qui termine un lacet ou une aiguillette.

Corpus desk

Index FR-ferret · ferret · French

ferret · rank #42,876 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #42,876
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,276
  • PHOTO-FINISH feutres

Nearest frequency peer: feutres (+1 rank slots)

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.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « ferret »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « ferret » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

ferret vs forêt
50% similar
ferret vs ferry
67% similar
ferret vs furet
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for ferret
PropertyValue
Headwordferret
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\fɛ.ʁɛ\
Letters6
Frequency rank#42,876
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « ferret »

La fréquence va de la poignée de mots du quotidien (gauche) à la longue queue presque jamais vue (droite).ferretse place ici:

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

L'axe est logarithmique: chaque tic marque environ dix fois moins de fréquence. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « feutres » (#42,877), « femina » (#42,874), « finissons » (#42,878). Parmi 3,276 lemmes en « F », « ferret » est au #42,876. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around ferret (IPA \fɛ.ʁɛ\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #42,876 among 3,276 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for ferret, with forms such as "efrret", "ferert", and "feret". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "forêt", "ferry", "furet", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is ferret, spelled F-E-R-R-E-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Enveloppe de métal ou de plastique qui termine un lacet ou une aiguillette.
  2. 2
    Broche ornée de pierres précieuses qui termine un lacet ou une aiguillette.
  3. 3
    Enveloppe de métal qui sert à protéger la mèche lors de la fabrication des bougies.
  4. 4
    Variante orthographique de féret.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Un ferret d’aiguillette.
  2. Seulement si la reine a les ferrets, ce dont je doute, comptez-les, sire, et si vous n’en trouvez que dix, demandez à Sa Majesté qui peut lui avoir dérobé les deux ferrets que voici.

This word in other languages

aglet(English)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • efrret
  • ferert
  • feret
  • ferrett
  • ferrte
  • fferret
  • freret

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ferret - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

efrret2ferert2feret1ferrett1ferrte2fferret1freret2
Edit distance from "ferret"

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 "ferret"?
"ferret" is spelled F-E-R-R-E-T. The IPA pronunciation is \fɛ.ʁɛ\.
What does "ferret" mean?
As a noun, "ferret" means: Enveloppe de métal ou de plastique qui termine un lacet ou une aiguillette.
What words are commonly confused with "ferret"?
"ferret" is commonly confused with "forêt", "ferry", "furet". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ferret"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ferret" is \fɛ.ʁɛ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ferret" come from?
"ferret" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ferret", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

femina#42,874father#42,872flopée#42,881Fofana#42,883

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

fouette7 variantsgault7 variantshidden7 variantsinique7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list