gnomon

\ɡnɔ.mɔ̃\

/\ɡnɔ.mɔ̃\/ noun

The verdict

“gnomon” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Cadran solaire simple qui marque les heures par la direction de l’ombre sur un plan ou sur une surface courbe.

Key facts for gnomon
PropertyValue
Headwordgnomon
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ɡnɔ.mɔ̃\
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “gnomon” sits in French frequency

gnomon falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for gnomon is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ɡnɔ.mɔ̃\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Cadran solaire simple qui marque les heures par la direction de l’ombre sur un plan ou sur une surface courbe.".

Zero misspellings are on record for gnomon in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is gnomon, spelled G-N-O-M-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Cadran solaire simple qui marque les heures par la direction de l’ombre sur un plan ou sur une surface courbe.

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

How do you spell "gnomon"?
"gnomon" is spelled G-N-O-M-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \ɡnɔ.mɔ̃\.
What does "gnomon" mean?
As a noun, "gnomon" means: Cadran solaire simple qui marque les heures par la direction de l’ombre sur un plan ou sur une surface courbe.
How do you pronounce "gnomon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gnomon" is \ɡnɔ.mɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "gnomon" come from?
"gnomon" 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.

Using “gnomon”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is G-N-O-M-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ɡnɔ.mɔ̃\ (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