pall
/pɔːl/noun, verb
pall is spelled P-A-L-L: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,549th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pall means “A heavy cloth laid over a coffin or tomb; a shroud laid over a corpse” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pall is palls.
How many letters and syllables are in pall?
| Letters | 4: P-A-L-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 31,549th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is pall?
Pall appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,549th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce pall?
- UK /pɔːl/
- British /poːl/
- /pɔl/
Pall has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-pall.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with pall?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as pall from its last stressed vowel (/ɔl/, British pronunciation):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of pall
- palls plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- palling participle, present
- palled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pall mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
archaicFine cloth, especially purple cloth used for robes.
- 2
A heavy cloth laid over a coffin or tomb; a shroud laid over a corpse.
- 3
A piece of cardboard, covered with linen and embroidered on one side, used to cover the chalice during the Eucharist.
- 4
obsoleteA cloth used for various purposes on the altar in a church, such as a corporal (“cloth on which elements of the Eucharist are placed”) or frontal (“drapery covering the front of an altar”).
- 5
archaicAn outer garment; a cloak, mantle, or robe.
- 6
Something that covers or surrounds like a cloak; in particular, a cloud of dust, smoke, etc., or a feeling of fear, gloom, or suspicion.
The early election results cast a pall over what was supposed to be a celebration.
- 7
Especially in Roman Catholicism: a pallium (“liturgical vestment worn over the chasuble”).
- 8
A charge representing an archbishop's pallium, having the form of the letter Y, sometimes charged with crosses.
The flag of South Africa has a green pall
- 9
obsoleterareA feeling of nausea caused by disgust or overindulgence.
- 10
Alternative form of pawl.
verb
- 1
To cloak or cover with, or as if with, a pall.
- 2
To make vapid or insipid; to make lifeless or spiritless; to dull, to weaken.
- 3
To become dull, insipid, tasteless, or vapid; to lose life, spirit, strength, or taste.
The liquor palls.
- 4
Alternative form of pawl.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pall in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | drap mortuaire, poêle , pale , pairle |
| German | Palla , Göpel |
| Portuguese | perla |
| Spanish | perla |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does pall come from?
From Middle English pal, palle, from Old English pæl, pæll, from Old French paile and Latin pallium (“cloak; covering”) (and thus a doublet of pallium), probably from palla (“piece of cloth worn as apparel”) (possibly from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to cover, wrap; hide, skin; cloth”)) + -ium (suffix forming abstract nouns).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).