paraph
/ˈpaɹəf/
"paraph" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“paraph” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A flourish made after or below one's signature, originally to prevent forgery.
Corpus desk
Index EN-paraph · paraph · English
paraph · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | paraph |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpaɹəf/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “paraph” in English
Rare enough to double-check
paraph is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpaɹəf/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for paraph, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English paraf, from Medieval Latin paraffus or its etymon Middle French paraphe, paraffe, shortening of paragraphe, from Ancient Greek παράγραφος (parágraphos). The correct English form is paraph, spelled P-A-R-A-P-H.
Definition
- 1A flourish made after or below one's signature, originally to prevent forgery.
- 2A mark used by medieval rubricators to indicate textual division.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how paraph appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Commencing with a C-shaped paraph-sign in the same brown ink, the glosses are linked to their corresponding passages by alphabetic signs comprising single letters in a sequence beginning with a in each margin, moving on to b, c, and d down the page, and, ideally, linking with the same letter in the adjacent column. Such a pairing allows for matching the g…
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English paraf, from Medieval Latin paraffus or its etymon Middle French paraphe, paraffe, shortening of paragraphe, from Ancient Greek παράγραφος (parágraphos).
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.