pallor

/ˈpælɚ/

//ˈpælɚ// noun

"pallor" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pallor” is uncommon English (frequency #78,912 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#78,912
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Unnatural paleness, especially as a sign of sickness or distress.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pallor · pallor · English

pallor · rank #78,912 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #78,912
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH Pagani

Nearest frequency peer: Pagani (-1 rank slots)

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.

Long-tail ranks near “pallor”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “pallor” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for pallor
PropertyValue
Headwordpallor
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpælɚ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#78,912
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “pallor” in English

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Pagani” (#78,911), “palp” (#78,913), “paclitaxel” (#78,910). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pallor” is #78,912. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pallor is uncommon English at frequency #78,912 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpælɚ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Unnatural paleness, especially as a sign of sickness or distress.".

No misspelling variants are generated for pallor in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English pallour, from Old French palor (“paleness, pallor”), from Latin pallor, from palleō (“to look pale, blanch”). The correct English form is pallor, spelled P-A-L-L-O-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Unnatural paleness, especially as a sign of sickness or distress.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. pallor of the complexion
  2. ‘Sir,’ said the butler, turning to a sort of mottled pallor, ‘that thing was not my master, and there’s the truth. My master’—here he looked round him and began to whisper—‘is a tall fine build of a man, and this was more of a dwarf.’

Etymology

From Middle English pallour, from Old French palor (“paleness, pallor”), from Latin pallor, from palleō (“to look pale, blanch”).

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 "pallor"?
"pallor" is spelled P-A-L-L-O-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpælɚ/.
What does "pallor" mean?
As a noun, "pallor" means: Unnatural paleness, especially as a sign of sickness or distress.
How do you pronounce "pallor"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pallor" is /ˈpælɚ/. 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 "pallor"?
From Middle English pallour, from Old French palor (“paleness, pallor”), from Latin pallor, from palleō (“to look pale, blanch”). 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "pallor", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list