tête de Turc

\tɛt də tyʁk\

/\tɛt də tyʁk\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“tête de Turc” 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 May 6, 2026) - Sorte de dynamomètre, servant de jeu dans les foires, où la partie sur laquelle on frappe a la forme d’une tête coiffée d’un turban.

Key facts for tête de Turc
PropertyValue
Headwordtête de Turc
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\tɛt də tyʁk\
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tête de Turc” sits in French frequency

tête de Turc 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

tête de Turc is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \tɛt də tyʁk\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

tête de Turc doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is tête de Turc, spelled T-Ê-T-E- -D-E- -T-U-R-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sorte de dynamomètre, servant de jeu dans les foires, où la partie sur laquelle on frappe a la forme d’une tête coiffée d’un turban.
  2. 2
    Personne cible de toutes les moqueries et les méchancetés.
  3. 3
    Bouc émissaire ; personne sur qui est rejetée une faute et sur qui en retombent les conséquences.

Synonyms

bouc émissaireguignonpatitoplastronsouffre-douleurvictime

This word in other languages

scapegoat(English)cabeza de turco(Español)Lukas(Deutsch)

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 "tête de Turc"?
"tête de Turc" is spelled T-Ê-T-E- -D-E- -T-U-R-C. The IPA pronunciation is \tɛt də tyʁk\.
What does "tête de Turc" mean?
As a noun, "tête de Turc" means: Sorte de dynamomètre, servant de jeu dans les foires, où la partie sur laquelle on frappe a la forme d’une tête coiffée d’un turban.
How do you pronounce "tête de Turc"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tête de Turc" is \tɛt də tyʁk\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "tête de Turc" come from?
"tête de Turc" 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.

Using “tête de Turc”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is T-Ê-T-E- -D-E- -T-U-R-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \tɛt də tyʁk\ (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