paisley

/ˈpeɪzli/

//ˈpeɪzli// noun

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

"paisley" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“paisley” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,410. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,410
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A motif of a swirling droplet.

Corpus desk

Index EN-paisley · paisley · English

paisley · rank #19,410 · 10 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #19,410
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pajamas

Nearest frequency peer: pajamas (+1 rank slots)

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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “paisley”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “paisley” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

paisley vs parley
71% similar
paisley vs parsley
86% similar
paisley vs Presley
57% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for paisley
PropertyValue
Headwordpaisley
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpeɪzli/
Letters7
Frequency rank#19,410
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “paisley”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).paisleylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “pajamas” (#19,411), “overt” (#19,408), “patriarch” (#19,413). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “paisley” is #19,410. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around paisley (IPA /ˈpeɪzli/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #19,410 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for paisley, with forms such as "apisley", "pailsey", and "paisely". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "parley", "parsley", "Presley", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Paisley, Renfrewshire, in Scotland, where shawls of this kind were woven in the 1800s. The correct English form is paisley, spelled P-A-I-S-L-E-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A motif of a swirling droplet.
  2. 2
    A soft woollen fabric having this motif.

Etymology

From Paisley, Renfrewshire, in Scotland, where shawls of this kind were woven in the 1800s.

Synonyms

botehPersian pickleWelsh pear

This word in other languages

Paisley(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • apisley
  • pailsey
  • paisely
  • paisleyy
  • paislley
  • paislye
  • paissley
  • pasiley
  • piasley
  • ppaisley

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of paisley - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

apisley2pailsey2paisely2paisleyy1paislley1paislye2paissley1pasiley2
Edit distance from "paisley"

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 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "paisley"?
"paisley" is spelled P-A-I-S-L-E-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpeɪzli/.
What does "paisley" mean?
As a noun, "paisley" means: A motif of a swirling droplet.
What words are commonly confused with "paisley"?
"paisley" is commonly confused with "parley", "parsley", "Presley". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "paisley"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "paisley" is /ˈpeɪzli/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "paisley"?
From Paisley, Renfrewshire, in Scotland, where shawls of this kind were woven in the 1800s. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "paisley", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

pajamas#19,411perjury#19,415Potomac#19,419nurture#19,400

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

McGuire10 variantsmailbox10 variantsseamless10 variantshooking10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list