Which to use
“prof” and “proxy” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,848
- “prof” frequency rank
- #30,753
- “proxy” frequency rank
- 33601
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | prof | proxy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Professeur. | Serveur informatique qui a pour fonction de relayer des requêtes entre un poste client et un serveur, utilisé pour assurer les fonctions de mémoire cache, de journalisation des requêtes (« logging »), assurer la sécurité du réseau local, le filtrage et l’anonymat. |
Where the eye mixes prof and proxy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between prof and proxy
A purely visual mix-up. prof (\pʁɔf\) and proxy (\pʁɔk.si\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33601, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
prof is recorded at frequency rank #2,848, classified as anoun, pronounced \pʁɔf\. proxy is at rank #30,753, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pʁɔk.si\.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 33601, this pair ranks #289,527 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of prof vs proxy
Shared letters: opr. Private to "prof": f. Private to "proxy": xy.
"prof" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "proxy" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "prof" for "proxy" ever safe?
Which is more common, "prof" or "proxy"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "prof" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "proxy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #289,527 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "prof" and "proxy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "proud vs proxy". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #289,527 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.