licorne

\li.kɔʁn\

/\li.kɔʁn\/ noun

The verdict

“licorne” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #14,966 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#14,966
frequency rank, French
7
letters
10
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Quadrupède fabuleux, ressemblant à une biche portant une corne au milieu du front, à queue de lion et barbiche de chèvre, dont il est souvent question dans les bestiaires et les légendes du Moyen Âge.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

licorne vs Lorne
57% similar
licorne vs lionne
71% similar
licorne vs lucarne
71% similar

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

Key facts for licorne
PropertyValue
Headwordlicorne
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\li.kɔʁn\
Letters7
Frequency rank#14,966
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “licorne” 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). licorne 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 licorne is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \li.kɔʁn\. Corpus data places it at rank #14,966 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for licorne, with forms such as "ilcorne", "lciorne", and "liccorne". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "Lorne", "lionne", "lucarne", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is licorne, spelled L-I-C-O-R-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Quadrupède fabuleux, ressemblant à une biche portant une corne au milieu du front, à queue de lion et barbiche de chèvre, dont il est souvent question dans les bestiaires et les légendes du Moyen Âge.
  2. 2
    Start-up évaluée à plus d’un milliard de dollars et qui est financée par un fonds de capital-risque.
  3. 3
    Meuble représentant l’animal fabuleux du même nom dans les armoiries. Elle est parfois représentée à tort sous la forme d'un cheval à une corne, donc avec une queue incorrecte et des sabots au lieu des ongles fendus des chèvres.
  4. 4
    Femme, généralement bisexuelle, en relation avec un couple hétérosexuel.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ilcorne,lciorne,liccorne,liconre,licoren,licornne,licorrne,licrone,liocrne,llicorne

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ilcorne2lciorne2liccorne1liconre2licoren2licornne1licorrne1licrone2
Edit distance from "licorne"

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 "licorne"?
"licorne" is spelled L-I-C-O-R-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is \li.kɔʁn\.
What does "licorne" mean?
As a noun, "licorne" means: Quadrupède fabuleux, ressemblant à une biche portant une corne au milieu du front, à queue de lion et barbiche de chèvre, dont il est souvent question dans les bestiaires et les légendes du Moyen Âge.
What words are commonly confused with "licorne"?
"licorne" is commonly confused with "Lorne", "lionne", "lucarne". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "licorne"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "licorne" is \li.kɔʁn\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "licorne" come from?
"licorne" 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 “licorne”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is L-I-C-O-R-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \li.kɔʁn\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “Lorne” - see the side-by-side comparison. licorne vs Lorne
  • 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