kumquat

\kum.kwat\

/\kum.kwat\/ noun

The verdict

“kumquat” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Petit arbre fruitier, de la famille des Rutacées (Rutaceae), originaire de Chine et de Malaisie. → voir Fortunella

Corpus desk

Index FR-kumquat · kumquat · French

kumquat · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "K" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for kumquat
PropertyValue
Headwordkumquat
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\kum.kwat\
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « kumquat » en français

kumquatsiège au-delà des 100.000 formes les plus fréquentes du français, dans la traîne du lexique spécialisé ou peu usité.

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

Rare enough to double-check

kumquat is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \kum.kwat\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for kumquat, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is kumquat, spelled K-U-M-Q-U-A-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Petit arbre fruitier, de la famille des Rutacées (Rutaceae), originaire de Chine et de Malaisie. → voir Fortunella
  2. 2
    Fruit de cet arbre, appartenant à la famille des agrumes, plus petit qu’une orange, souvent consommé confit.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Les kumquats, du genre Fortunella, sont de petits arbustes produisant de petits fruits totalement comestibles.
  2. Le vif zéphyr jubile sur les kumquats du clown gracieux. (pangramme)

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 "kumquat"?
"kumquat" is spelled K-U-M-Q-U-A-T. The IPA pronunciation is \kum.kwat\.
What does "kumquat" mean?
As a noun, "kumquat" means: Petit arbre fruitier, de la famille des Rutacées (Rutaceae), originaire de Chine et de Malaisie. → voir Fortunella
How do you pronounce "kumquat"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "kumquat" is \kum.kwat\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "kumquat" come from?
"kumquat" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list