ptarmigan

noun

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Un des noms du lagopède.

Corpus desk

Index FR-ptarmigan · ptarmigan · French

ptarmigan · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 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 ptarmigan
PropertyValue
Headwordptarmigan
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « ptarmigan » en français

ptarmigansiège au-delà des 100.000 formes les plus fréquentes du français, dans la traîne du lexique spécialisé ou peu usité.

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

Rare enough to double-check

ptarmigan is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for ptarmigan, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

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 ptarmigan, spelled P-T-A-R-M-I-G-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Un des noms du lagopède.
  2. 2
    Synonyme de lagopède alpin.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Les perdrix, les ptarmigans, fuyant vers des régions plus tempérées, passaient en grand nombre, et fournirent une viande fraîche et saine.
  2. Parmi ces proies, le ptarmigan (lagopède des Alpes) se nourrit de baies et de feuilles vertes et le bruant des neiges surtout d'insectes phytophages.

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 "ptarmigan"?
"ptarmigan" is spelled P-T-A-R-M-I-G-A-N.
What does "ptarmigan" mean?
As a noun, "ptarmigan" means: Un des noms du lagopède.
What language does "ptarmigan" come from?
"ptarmigan" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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