glacis

\ɡla.si\

/\ɡla.si\/ noun

The verdict

“glacis” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #40,786 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#40,786
frequency rank, French
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
18
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Talus, pente douce et unie.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

glacis vs Glas
50% similar
glacis vs glass
67% similar
glacis vs grâces
50% similar

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

Key facts for glacis
PropertyValue
Headwordglacis
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ɡla.si\
Letters6
Frequency rank#40,786
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs18
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “glacis” 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). glacis 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 glacis is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ɡla.si\. Corpus data places it at rank #40,786 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for glacis, with forms such as "galcis", "gglacis", and "glaccis". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 18 confusable-pair relationships, "Glas", "glass", "grâces", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is glacis, spelled G-L-A-C-I-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Talus, pente douce et unie.
  2. 2
    Pente douce qui part de la crête du chemin couvert et se perd dans la campagne.
  3. 3
    Surface lisse en pente.
  4. 4
    Blindage supérieur avant d’un char d’assaut, incliné afin d’améliorer sa résistance à la pénétration.
  5. 5
    Espace-tampon ménagé par une puissance autour de ses frontières par le contrôle de régions, voire de pays, limitrophes, afin d’optimiser la défense de son territoire.
  6. 6
    Rangée de points qui fixent la doublure sur une étoffe et l’empêchent de plisser.
  7. 7
    Couleurs légères et transparentes que les peintres appliquent quelquefois sur les couleurs déjà sèches d’un tableau pour leur donner plus d’éclat, de vigueur, de brillant, etc.
  8. 8
    Apparence.
  9. 9
    Enduit étanche permettant l’écoulement de l'eau.
  10. 10
    Contenu d’un verre, verrée, rasade.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: galcis,gglacis,glaccis,glaciss,glacsi,glaics,glcais,gllacis,lgacis

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of glacis - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

galcis2gglacis1glaccis1glaciss1glacsi2glaics2glcais2gllacis1
Edit distance from "glacis"

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 "glacis"?
"glacis" is spelled G-L-A-C-I-S. The IPA pronunciation is \ɡla.si\.
What does "glacis" mean?
As a noun, "glacis" means: Talus, pente douce et unie.
What words are commonly confused with "glacis"?
"glacis" is commonly confused with "Glas", "glass", "grâces". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "glacis"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "glacis" is \ɡla.si\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "glacis" come from?
"glacis" 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 “glacis”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is G-L-A-C-I-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ɡla.si\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “Glas” - see the side-by-side comparison. glacis vs Glas
  • 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