splinter

\ˈsplɪn.tə\

/\ˈsplɪn.tə\/ noun

The verdict

“splinter” is uncommon French (frequency #72,756 among 394,209 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#72,756
frequency rank, French
394,209
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Écharde, éclat, esquille.

Key facts for splinter
PropertyValue
Headwordsplinter
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ˈsplɪn.tə\
Letters8
Frequency rank#72,756
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “splinter” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). splinter lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

splinter is uncommon French at frequency #72,756 among 394,209 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \ˈsplɪn.tə\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Écharde, éclat, esquille.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for splinter, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our 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 splinter, spelled S-P-L-I-N-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Écharde, éclat, esquille.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "splinter"?
"splinter" is spelled S-P-L-I-N-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈsplɪn.tə\.
What does "splinter" mean?
As a noun, "splinter" means: Écharde, éclat, esquille.
How do you pronounce "splinter"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "splinter" is \ˈsplɪn.tə\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "splinter" come from?
"splinter" 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 “splinter”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is S-P-L-I-N-T-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ˈsplɪn.tə\ (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

Other uncommon French words near this rank

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