Palestine

/ˈpæləˌstaɪn/

//ˈpæləˌstaɪn// name

"palestine" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Palestine” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #7,259 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.

#7,259
frequency rank, English
9
letters
13
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A country in Western Asia, in the Middle East; the State of Palestine; the homeland of the Palestinian people.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

Palestine vs palatine
67% similar

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

Key facts for Palestine
PropertyValue
HeadwordPalestine
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈpæləˌstaɪn/
Letters9
Frequency rank#7,259
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Palestine” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). Palestine lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for Palestine is 9 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpæləˌstaɪn/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,259 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 23 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for Palestine, with forms such as "aplestine", "paelstine", and "palesitne". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "palatine", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English Palestyne, from Old English Palestina, from Latin Palaestīna (“Roman province of Palestine”), from Ancient Greek Παλαιστίνη (Palaistínē, “Philistia and the surrounding region”), from Hebrew פְּלֶשֶׁת (p'léshet, “Philistia, land of the Ph… The correct English form is Palestine, spelled P-A-L-E-S-T-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A country in Western Asia, in the Middle East; the State of Palestine; the homeland of the Palestinian people.
  2. 2
    A country in Western Asia, in the Middle East; the State of Palestine; the homeland of the Palestinian people.
  3. 3
    The region in Western Asia in the Middle East between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.
  4. 4
    A British colonial entity administering approximately the lands mentioned in definition 1.
  5. 5
    The British League of Nations Mandate for Palestine, of which this region was a part (the remainder being Transjordan, which covered approximately the lands of the modern Kingdom (originally Emirate) of Jordan).
  6. 6
    Any of four Ancient Roman and Byzantine provinces in the eastern Mediterranean: Syria Palaestina, Palaestina Prima, Palaestina Secunda and Palaestina Salutaris.
  7. 7
    The Biblical Land of Israel, roughly corresponding to the northern part of modern-day Israel proper, the West Bank, and northwest Jordan.
  8. 8
    Philistia, a region in the Levant inhabited by the ancient Philistines.
  9. 9
    A number of places in the United States:
  10. 10
    A number of places in the United States:
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    A number of places in the United States:
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    A number of places in the United States:
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    A number of places in the United States:
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    A number of places in the United States:
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    A number of places in the United States:
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    A number of places in the United States:
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    A number of places in the United States:
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    A number of places in the United States:
  20. 20
    A number of places in the United States:
  21. 21
    A number of places in the United States:
  22. 22
    A community in the City of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada.
  23. 23
    A village in Over Wallop parish, Test Valley district, Hampshire, England (OS grid ref SU2640).

Etymology

From Middle English Palestyne, from Old English Palestina, from Latin Palaestīna (“Roman province of Palestine”), from Ancient Greek Παλαιστίνη (Palaistínē, “Philistia and the surrounding region”), from Hebrew פְּלֶשֶׁת (p'léshet, “Philistia, land of the Philistines”). The term P-l-s-t or P-r-s-t, found in five Ancient Egyptian inscriptions (beginning with one at Medinet Habu from circa 1170 BCE and ending with Padiiset's Statue inscription from circa 900-850 BCE) as the name of a people near Egypt, is traditionally taken to be cognate. Seven Assyrian inscriptions contain the word "Palas(h)tu" or "Pilistu", which is usually also taken to be cognate.

Synonyms

Canaanthe Holy LandIsraelthe Land of IsraelPalaestinaState of PalestineFalasteen

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: aplestine,paelstine,palesitne,palesstine,palestien,palestinne,palestnie,palesttine,paletsine,pallestine,palsetine,plaestine,ppalestine

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Palestine - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

aplestine2paelstine2palesitne2palesstine1palestien2palestinne1palestnie2palesttine1
Edit distance from "Palestine"

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 "Palestine"?
"Palestine" is spelled P-A-L-E-S-T-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpæləˌstaɪn/.
What does "Palestine" mean?
As a proper noun, "Palestine" means: A country in Western Asia, in the Middle East; the State of Palestine; the homeland of the Palestinian people.
What words are commonly confused with "Palestine"?
"Palestine" is commonly confused with "palatine". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Palestine"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Palestine" is /ˈpæləˌstaɪn/. 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 "Palestine"?
From Middle English Palestyne, from Old English Palestina, from Latin Palaestīna (“Roman province of Palestine”), from Ancient Greek Παλαιστίνη (Palaistínē, “Philistia and the surrounding region”), from Hebrew פְּלֶשֶׁת (p'léshet, “Philistia, land... 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.

Using “Palestine”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-A-L-E-S-T-I-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈpæləˌstaɪn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “palatine” - see the side-by-side comparison. Palestine vs palatine
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list