papal
/ˈpeɪpəl/adjective
papal is spelled P-A-P-A-L: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, papal means “Having to do with the pope or the papacy” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in papal?
| Letters | 5: P-A-P-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words; the 17,122nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
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 papal?
Papal appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd 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 papal?
- /ˈpeɪpəl/
- [ˈpʰeɪ̯.p(ʰ)əɫ]
Papal has 2 syllables (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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-papal.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with papal?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as papal.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: appal, lappa.
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 papal
- more papal comparative
- most papal superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does papal mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having to do with the pope or the papacy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Papal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense related to the pope or papacy:
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 papal come from?
From Middle English papal, from Old French papal and Medieval Latin pāpālis (“papal”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).