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palette

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

7 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "palette", 7-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "palette" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "palette" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

palette is aEnglishnoun. It means: A thin board on which a painter lays and mixes colours. Pronounced /ˈpælɪt/. Often confused with Platte and palmetto.

Key facts for palette
PropertyValue
Headwordpalette
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpælɪt/
Letters7
Frequency rank#10,587
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of palette in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for palette is 7 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpælɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #10,587 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 8 documented wrong-spelling variants for palette, with forms such as "aplette", "paeltte", and "palete". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "Platte", "palmetto", "pallet", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French palette. Doublet of pallet. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is palette, spelled P-A-L-E-T-T-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A thin board on which a painter lays and mixes colours.
  2. 2
    A set of colours available to be used (or mixed).
  3. 3
    The range of colors in a given work or item or body of work.
  4. 4
    The range of tones or tone colors in a given musical composition or performance.
  5. 5
    A set of makeup including a variety of colors, often packaged together in a tray.
  6. 6
    A visual selection of colours, tools, commands, etc.
  7. 7
    A plate of armour covering the points of junction at the bend of the shoulders and elbows.
  8. 8
    A plate against which a person presses their chest to give force to a hand-operated drill.
  9. 9
    Any set or group of limited choices, options, or tasks from all ones that are currently available.

Etymology

Borrowed from French palette. Doublet of pallet.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: aplette,paeltte,palete,paletet,pallette,paltete,plaette,ppalette

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for palette

Misspelling Variants of "palette"

aplette7paeltte7palete6paletet7pallette8paltete7plaette7ppalette8
Misspelling Variants of "palette"

Frequency rank: #10,587 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "palette"?
"palette" is spelled P-A-L-E-T-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpælɪt/.
What does "palette" mean?
As a noun, "palette" means: A thin board on which a painter lays and mixes colours.
What words are commonly confused with "palette"?
"palette" is commonly confused with "Platte", "palmetto", "pallet". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "palette"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "palette" is /ˈpælɪt/. 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 "palette"?
Borrowed from French palette. Doublet of pallet. 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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter P in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.