palanquin
/ˌpælənˈkin/
"palanquin" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“palanquin” is uncommon English (frequency #81,677 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #81,677
- frequency rank, English
- 46,516
- “P” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An enclosed human-borne litter or sedan chair, a large box with a chair, couch, or bed raised on horizontal poles and used as a mode of transport.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | palanquin |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌpælənˈkin/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #81,677 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “palanquin” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
palanquin is uncommon English at frequency #81,677 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌpælənˈkin/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for palanquin in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Portuguese palanquim (“Asian litter, litter-bearer”), from Odia ପାଲଙ୍କି (pālaṅki, “litter”), ultimately from Sanskrit पल्यङ्क (palyaṅka), variant of पर्यङ्क (paryaṅka, “bed, couch, litter”). Doublet of palki. The correct English form is palanquin, spelled P-A-L-A-N-Q-U-I-N.
Definition
- 1An enclosed human-borne litter or sedan chair, a large box with a chair, couch, or bed raised on horizontal poles and used as a mode of transport.
- 2Synonym of litter, any similar vehicle open or closed, human or animal-borne, particularly (historical) in colonial Asian contexts.
Etymology
From Portuguese palanquim (“Asian litter, litter-bearer”), from Odia ପାଲଙ୍କି (pālaṅki, “litter”), ultimately from Sanskrit पल्यङ्क (palyaṅka), variant of पर्यङ्क (paryaṅka, “bed, couch, litter”). Doublet of palki.
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); 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 "palanquin"?
What does "palanquin" mean?
How do you pronounce "palanquin"?
What is the origin of the word "palanquin"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “palanquin”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-A-L-A-N-Q-U-I-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌpælənˈkin/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.