nitrocellulose
\ni.tʁo.se.ly.loz\
The verdict
“nitrocellulose” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 14
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Explosif obtenu par l’action de l’acide nitrique sur la cellulose. (note : elle n’explose que si elle est comprimée, à l’air libre elle brûle.)
Corpus desk
Index FR-nitrocellulose · nitrocellulose · French
nitrocellulose · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 14 letters
- VOW-6 6 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "N" 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | nitrocellulose |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \ni.tʁo.se.ly.loz\ |
| Letters | 14 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « nitrocellulose » en français
Rare enough to double-check
nitrocellulose is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ni.tʁo.se.ly.loz\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for nitrocellulose, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is nitrocellulose, spelled N-I-T-R-O-C-E-L-L-U-L-O-S-E.
Definition
- 1Explosif obtenu par l’action de l’acide nitrique sur la cellulose. (note : elle n’explose que si elle est comprimée, à l’air libre elle brûle.)
- 2Substance utilisée sous forme de collodion pour les premières pellicules photographiques.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how nitrocellulose appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Il met au point la soie artificielle en 1884 et, en 1880, il est fait chevalier de la Légion d’honneur à titre civil, pour son travail sur le pyroxyle, produit explosif appelé aussi nitrocellulose, qui entre dans la fabrication des munitions.
Près de quatre mille boîtiers, cinq mille plaques, et quatre-vingt-cinq kilomètres de pellicule de nitrocellulose furent détruits avant que les autorités puissent intervenir.
Synonyms
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.