paleface

noun

"paleface" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A white person, a person of European descent, particularly in Native American contexts.

Corpus desk

Index EN-paleface · paleface · English

paleface · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "P" 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.

Key facts for paleface
PropertyValue
Headwordpaleface
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “paleface” in English

palefacesits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

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

Rare enough to double-check

paleface is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A white person, a person of European descent, particularly in Native American contexts.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for paleface, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From pale + face, a supposed calque from a Native American language. First appears in print c. 1797. The correct English form is paleface, spelled P-A-L-E-F-A-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A white person, a person of European descent, particularly in Native American contexts.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Dere is Great Wicked Spirit, too... Heart grow hard. Great pleasure was to kill pale-face. Dat feeling last, Blossom, till I see you. Feel like fader to you, and don't want your scalp... Still want all udder pale-face scalp. Want Bourdon scalp much as any.
  2. The hearts of the palefaces would not thrill to these superstitions of the red men, though we spoke of them in the centre of the haunted region.

Etymology

From pale + face, a supposed calque from a Native American language. First appears in print c. 1797.

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 "paleface"?
"paleface" is spelled P-A-L-E-F-A-C-E.
What does "paleface" mean?
As a noun, "paleface" means: A white person, a person of European descent, particularly in Native American contexts.
What is the origin of the word "paleface"?
From pale + face, a supposed calque from a Native American language. First appears in print c. 1797. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list