lapalissade
/ləˌpælɪˈsɑːd/
"lapalissade" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“lapalissade” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An obvious, self-evident truth, especially humorously so; a tautology or truism.
Corpus desk
Index EN-lapalissade · lapalissade · English
lapalissade · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 11 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "L" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | lapalissade |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ləˌpælɪˈsɑːd/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “lapalissade” in English
Rare enough to double-check
lapalissade is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ləˌpælɪˈsɑːd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An obvious, self-evident truth, especially humorously so; a tautology or truism.".
Zero misspellings are on record for lapalissade in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French lapalissade, equivalent to Jacques de la Palice (a French nobleman and military officer) + -ade; see Lapalissian for more. The correct English form is lapalissade, spelled L-A-P-A-L-I-S-S-A-D-E.
Definition
- 1An obvious, self-evident truth, especially humorously so; a tautology or truism.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how lapalissade appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
In a certain way our theory is so obvious that it appears to us as a “lapalissade”. The cell is a network of phospholipid membranes and one of their chief functions is to keep certain substrates and enzymes apart.
Despite their affection for Gavarni, they dismissed as a lapalissade his oft-repeated statement that science had killed the notion of God
Etymology
From French lapalissade, equivalent to Jacques de la Palice (a French nobleman and military officer) + -ade; see Lapalissian for more.
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.