paläo-

[palɛo]

/[palɛo]/ prefix

The verdict

“paläo-” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a prefix. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - alt

Corpus desk

Index DE-palao · paläo- · German

paläo- · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "P" 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 paläo-
PropertyValue
Headwordpaläo-
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPrefix
IPA[palɛo]
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „paläo-“ im Deutschen

paläo-sitzt jenseits der 100.000 häufigsten deutschen Formen, im Schwanz spezialisierten oder seltenen Wortschatzes.

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

Rare enough to double-check

paläo- is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as aprefix, transcribed [palɛo]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "alt".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for paläo-, a sign its spelling follows regular German conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is paläo-, spelled P-A-L-Ä-O--.

Definition

  1. 1
    alt

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Die Paläoanthropologie beschäftigt sich mit der Stammesgeschichte des Menschen.

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 "paläo-"?
"paläo-" is spelled P-A-L-Ä-O--. The IPA pronunciation is [palɛo].
What does "paläo-" mean?
As a prefix, "paläo-" means: alt
How do you pronounce "paläo-"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "paläo-" is [palɛo]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "paläo-" come from?
"paläo-" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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