sesquilingue

\sɛs.kɥi.lɛ̃ɡ\

/\sɛs.kɥi.lɛ̃ɡ\/ adj

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Qui parle à peine une seconde langue.

Key facts for sesquilingue
PropertyValue
Headwordsesquilingue
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\sɛs.kɥi.lɛ̃ɡ\
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sesquilingue” sits in French frequency

sesquilingue falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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

Rare enough to double-check

sesquilingue is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \sɛs.kɥi.lɛ̃ɡ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for sesquilingue in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is sesquilingue, spelled S-E-S-Q-U-I-L-I-N-G-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui parle à peine une seconde langue.
  2. 2
    Se dit d’une personne qui baragouine une langue seconde.

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 "sesquilingue"?
"sesquilingue" is spelled S-E-S-Q-U-I-L-I-N-G-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is \sɛs.kɥi.lɛ̃ɡ\.
What does "sesquilingue" mean?
As an adjective, "sesquilingue" means: Qui parle à peine une seconde langue.
How do you pronounce "sesquilingue"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sesquilingue" is \sɛs.kɥi.lɛ̃ɡ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "sesquilingue" come from?
"sesquilingue" 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.

Using “sesquilingue”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is S-E-S-Q-U-I-L-I-N-G-U-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \sɛs.kɥi.lɛ̃ɡ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list