quincaille

\kɛ̃.kaj\

/\kɛ̃.kaj\/ noun

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Toute sorte d’ustensiles, d’instruments de fer ou de cuivre comme couteaux, ciseaux, chandeliers, etc. On lui préfère aujourd’hui quincaillerie.

Corpus desk

Index FR-quincaille · quincaille · French

quincaille · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "Q" 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 quincaille
PropertyValue
Headwordquincaille
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\kɛ̃.kaj\
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « quincaille » en français

quincaillereste 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

quincaille is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \kɛ̃.kaj\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for quincaille in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is quincaille, spelled Q-U-I-N-C-A-I-L-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Toute sorte d’ustensiles, d’instruments de fer ou de cuivre comme couteaux, ciseaux, chandeliers, etc. On lui préfère aujourd’hui quincaillerie.
  2. 2
    Armes.
  3. 3
    Matériel informatique.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Béru soulage Bébert des deux feux passés dans sa ceinture. – Ça te facilitera le déplacement quand t'iras à l'hosto te faire mercurochromer les pinceaux, Mec, déclare-t-il en enfouillant la quincaille.
  2. On se chicane fort sérieusement pour traduire « hardware » et « software » en « quincaille » et en « mentaille ». J’ai comme l’idée que cela ne passera pas, à moins que tout cela ne soit qu’une bonne blague.

Antonyms

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "quincaille"?
"quincaille" is spelled Q-U-I-N-C-A-I-L-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is \kɛ̃.kaj\.
What does "quincaille" mean?
As a noun, "quincaille" means: Toute sorte d’ustensiles, d’instruments de fer ou de cuivre comme couteaux, ciseaux, chandeliers, etc. On lui préfère aujourd’hui quincaillerie.
How do you pronounce "quincaille"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "quincaille" is \kɛ̃.kaj\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "quincaille" come from?
"quincaille" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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