mesquin

\mɛs.kɛ̃\

/\mɛs.kɛ̃\/ adj

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

The verdict

“mesquin” has 10 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #32,070. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#32,070
frequency rank, French
5,038
“M” headwords
10
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Sans importance ni valeur, exigu et pauvre.

Corpus desk

Index FR-mesquin · mesquin · French

mesquin · rank #32,070 · 10 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #32,070
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,038
  • PHOTO-FINISH Mercer

Nearest frequency peer: Mercer (-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 « mesquin »

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

corpus weight

What this shows « mesquin » 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
Key facts for mesquin
PropertyValue
Headwordmesquin
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\mɛs.kɛ̃\
Letters7
Frequency rank#32,070
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « mesquin »

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

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

Les tics avancent en logarithme; chacun est de l'ordre de dix fois plus rare. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « Mercer » (#32,069), « mestre » (#32,071), « mente » (#32,068). Parmi 5,038 lemmes en « M », « mesquin » est au #32,070. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around mesquin (IPA \mɛs.kɛ̃\), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #32,070 among 5,038 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for mesquin, with forms such as "emsquin", "meqsuin", and "mesqiun". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is mesquin, spelled M-E-S-Q-U-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sans importance ni valeur, exigu et pauvre.
  2. 2
    Qui a un esprit étroit, en parlant d’une personne qui ne montre pas d’ouverture d’esprit.
  3. 3
    Qui témoigne d’avarice, de parcimonie excessive.
  4. 4
    Qui est maigre, pauvre, de mauvais goût.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Les beautés de la nature semblent bien mesquines, comparées à leur représentation au théâtre.
  2. Le père avait la mine étoffée et majestueuse d’un roi mage. Nous nous trouvions bien laids et bien mesquins à côté de ce gaillard solennel ; et du ton le plus humble, le chapeau à la main, nous lui demandâmes s’il voulait bien daigner nous vendre quelques paires de babouches de maroquin jaune.

This word in other languages

petty(English)mezquino(Español)gering(Deutsch)mesquinho(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • emsquin
  • meqsuin
  • mesqiun
  • mesqquin
  • mesquinn
  • mesquni
  • messquin
  • mesuqin
  • mmesquin
  • msequin

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

emsquin2meqsuin2mesqiun2mesqquin1mesquinn1mesquni2messquin1mesuqin2
Edit distance from "mesquin"

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 "mesquin"?
"mesquin" is spelled M-E-S-Q-U-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is \mɛs.kɛ̃\.
What does "mesquin" mean?
As an adjective, "mesquin" means: Sans importance ni valeur, exigu et pauvre.
What are common misspellings of "mesquin"?
Common misspellings include "emsquin", "meqsuin", "mesqiun", "mesqquin", "mesquinn". The correct spelling is "mesquin".
How do you pronounce "mesquin"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mesquin" is \mɛs.kɛ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "mesquin" come from?
"mesquin" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "mesquin", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

minibus#32,072moineau#32,074manchot#32,064maistre#32,062

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

magenta10 variantslugubre10 variantsLeibniz10 variantspalatin10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list