palm tree

noun

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

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A tree of the family Arecaceae usually characterised by having a single stem or trunk, directly from which sprout several leaves or fronds giving a shape like an outstretched hand.

Corpus desk

Index EN-palm-tree · palm tree · English

palm tree · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 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 palm tree
PropertyValue
Headwordpalm tree
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “palm tree” in English

palm treefalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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

Rare enough to double-check

palm tree is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A tree of the family Arecaceae usually characterised by having a single stem or trunk, directly from which sprout several leaves or fronds giving a shape like an outstretched hand.".

No misspelling variants are generated for palm tree in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English palmetre, from Old English palmtrēow (“palm tree”), equivalent to palm + tree. Compare Danish palmetræ (“palm tree”), Swedish palmträd (“palm tree”), Norwegian palmetre (“palm tree”), Icelandic pálmatré (“palm tree”). The correct English form is palm tree, spelled P-A-L-M- -T-R-E-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A tree of the family Arecaceae usually characterised by having a single stem or trunk, directly from which sprout several leaves or fronds giving a shape like an outstretched hand.

Etymology

From Middle English palmetre, from Old English palmtrēow (“palm tree”), equivalent to palm + tree. Compare Danish palmetræ (“palm tree”), Swedish palmträd (“palm tree”), Norwegian palmetre (“palm tree”), Icelandic pálmatré (“palm tree”).

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 "palm tree"?
"palm tree" is spelled P-A-L-M- -T-R-E-E.
What does "palm tree" mean?
As a noun, "palm tree" means: A tree of the family Arecaceae usually characterised by having a single stem or trunk, directly from which sprout several leaves or fronds giving a shape like an outstretched hand.
What is the origin of the word "palm tree"?
From Middle English palmetre, from Old English palmtrēow (“palm tree”), equivalent to palm + tree. Compare Danish palmetræ (“palm tree”), Swedish palmträd (“palm tree”), Norwegian palmetre (“palm tree”), Icelandic pálmatré (“palm tree”). 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