second degré

\sə.ɡɔ̃ də.ɡʁe\

/\sə.ɡɔ̃ də.ɡʁe\/ noun

The verdict

“second degré” 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) - Autoparodie, humour autoréférentiel.

Corpus desk

Index FR-second-degre · second degré · French

second degré · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" 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 second degré
PropertyValue
Headwordsecond degré
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\sə.ɡɔ̃ də.ɡʁe\
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « second degré » en français

second degrésiège 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

second degré is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \sə.ɡɔ̃ də.ɡʁe\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for second degré, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

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 second degré, spelled S-E-C-O-N-D- -D-E-G-R-É.

Definition

  1. 1
    Autoparodie, humour autoréférentiel.
  2. 2
    Type de problème, dans lequel on connaît le carré d'une inconnue.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Les titres eux-mêmes de ces nouveaux morceaux célèbrent l’irruption de la paraphrase, ou plutôt du second degré dans cette musique que l’Amérique (et l’Europe de l’époque, bien sûr) ne tolérait que sous sa forme dansante, hédonique, primaire.
  2. Aujourd’hui, rares sont celles et ceux qui peuvent manier un second degré au-dessus de tout soupçon. D’autant que certains débats provoquent des crispations telles qu’il est devenu presque impossible de ne pas être pris au pied de la lettre.

Synonyms

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 "second degré"?
"second degré" is spelled S-E-C-O-N-D- -D-E-G-R-É. The IPA pronunciation is \sə.ɡɔ̃ də.ɡʁe\.
What does "second degré" mean?
As a noun, "second degré" means: Autoparodie, humour autoréférentiel.
How do you pronounce "second degré"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "second degré" is \sə.ɡɔ̃ də.ɡʁe\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "second degré" come from?
"second degré" 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