noctambule

\nɔk.tɑ̃.byl\

/\nɔk.tɑ̃.byl\/ noun

The verdict

“noctambule” is uncommon French (frequency #96,184 among 1,563 “N” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#96,184
frequency rank, French
1,563
“N” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Personne souffrant de noctambulisme, maladie entrainant chez le sujet le fait de marcher en dormant sans en garder le souvenir.

Corpus desk

Index FR-noctambule · noctambule · French

noctambule · rank #96,184 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #96,184
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,563
  • PHOTO-FINISH nivo

Nearest frequency peer: nivo (-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.

Rangs de longue queue près de « noctambule »

Bande clairsemée: les barres inversent le rang pour que le rare se lise plus court

corpus weight

What this shows Vue de longue queue: où « noctambule » se situe face à des rangs français aussi rares.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for noctambule
PropertyValue
Headwordnoctambule
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\nɔk.tɑ̃.byl\
Letters10
Frequency rank#96,184
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « noctambule » en français

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).noctambuletombe dans cette queue de rareté:

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

Les tics avancent en logarithme; chacun est de l'ordre de dix fois plus rare. Voisins rares de la même bande: « nivo » (#96,183), « Nolte » (#96,185), « Niue » (#96,182). Parmi 1,563 lemmes en « N », « noctambule » est au #96,184. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

noctambule is uncommon French at frequency #96,184 among 1,563 “N” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \nɔk.tɑ̃.byl\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for noctambule in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

No documented word history exists for this headword, 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 noctambule, spelled N-O-C-T-A-M-B-U-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Personne souffrant de noctambulisme, maladie entrainant chez le sujet le fait de marcher en dormant sans en garder le souvenir.
  2. 2
    Personne menant diverses activités, d'oisiveté ou d'amusement, pendant la nuit.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Un noctambule sortant de boite passablement éméché surprend la scène d’agression.
  2. La place Pigalle, passé deux heures du matin, est le refuge des noctambules professionnels. Des musiciens, des nègres, des filles, des invertis se donnent rendez-vous dans les bars et voient souvent l'aube se lever sans que la chance leur ait souri.

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); 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 "noctambule"?
"noctambule" is spelled N-O-C-T-A-M-B-U-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is \nɔk.tɑ̃.byl\.
What does "noctambule" mean?
As a noun, "noctambule" means: Personne souffrant de noctambulisme, maladie entrainant chez le sujet le fait de marcher en dormant sans en garder le souvenir.
How do you pronounce "noctambule"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "noctambule" is \nɔk.tɑ̃.byl\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "noctambule" come from?
"noctambule" 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 "noctambule", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list