porte-besace

\pɔʁt.bə.zas\

/\pɔʁt.bə.zas\/ noun

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Vagabond.

Corpus desk

Index FR-porte-besace · porte-besace · French

porte-besace · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "P" 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 porte-besace
PropertyValue
Headwordporte-besace
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\pɔʁt.bə.zas\
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « porte-besace » en français

porte-besacereste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

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

Rare enough to double-check

porte-besace is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \pɔʁt.bə.zas\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Vagabond.".

porte-besace has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, 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 its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is porte-besace, spelled P-O-R-T-E---B-E-S-A-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Vagabond.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. C’est comme il plaira à Dieu ! mais vous voyez bien pourtant que ça change et que ça change en mal, puisque le pauvre devient chaque jour plus malheureux, et que la condition de porte-besace, qu’on regardait comme la dernière de toutes, est à présent insupportable avec vos dépôts de mendicité, c’est-à-dire vos prisons pour les malheureux.
  2. L’entraînement est naturel à l’homme ; il le subit d’abord, puis il s’y abandonne sans savoir où il sera mené, et l’habitude devient un besoin qui se tourne en passion. C’est le fait de ces vieux porte-besace haillonneux, décrépits et sordides qui meurent sur des sacs d’or qu’ils ont ramassés sou à sou. On les accuse d’avarice, et l’on à tort : ils étaien…

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 "porte-besace"?
"porte-besace" is spelled P-O-R-T-E---B-E-S-A-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is \pɔʁt.bə.zas\.
What does "porte-besace" mean?
As a noun, "porte-besace" means: Vagabond.
How do you pronounce "porte-besace"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "porte-besace" is \pɔʁt.bə.zas\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "porte-besace" come from?
"porte-besace" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list