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PlainSpell

parcel

par·cel/ˈpɑɹsəl/noun, verb

parcel is spelled P-A-R-C-E-L: 6 letters and 2 syllables (par·cel). It appears 4.7 times per million words in written English, the 11,685th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, parcel means “A package wrapped, as for shipment or transport” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of parcel is parcels.

How many letters and syllables are in parcel?

Letters6: P-A-R-C-E-L
Syllables2: par·cel
In writing4.7 times per million words; the 11,685th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; 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 parcel?

Parcel appears 4.7 times per million words in written English, the 11,685th 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 parcel?

  • UK [ˈpʰɑː.səɫ]
  • US /ˈpɑɹsəl/
  • US [ˈpʰɑɹ.səɫ]

Parcel has 2 syllables, split par·cel in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-parcel.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with parcel?

One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as parcel from its last stressed vowel (/ɑɹsəl/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: placer, carpel.

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 parcel

  • parcels plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • parceling US, participle, present
  • parcelling UK, participle, present
  • parceled US, participle, past
  • parcelled UK, participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does parcel mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A package wrapped, as for shipment or transport.

    I saw a brown paper parcel on my doorstep.

  2. 2

    An individual consignment of cargo for shipment, regardless of size and form.

  3. 3

    An individual item appearing on an invoice or receipt (only in the phrase bill of parcels).

  4. 4

    A division of land bought and sold as a unit.

    I own a small parcel of land between the refinery and the fish cannery.

  5. 5

    obsoleteA group of birds.

  6. 6

    An indiscriminate or indefinite number, measure, or quantity; a collection; a group.

  7. 7

    A small amount of food that has been wrapped up, for example a pastry.

  8. 8

    A portion of anything taken separately; a fragment of a whole; a part.

    A certain piece of land is part and parcel of another piece.

verb

  1. 1

    To wrap something up into the form of a package.

  2. 2

    To wrap a strip around the end of a rope.

    Worm and parcel with the lay; turn and serve the other way.

  3. 3

    To divide and distribute by parts or portions; often with off, out or into.

  4. 4

    To add a parcel or item to; to itemize.

adverb

  1. 1

    obsoletePart or half; in part; partially.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Parcel in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchcolis, paquet (package wrapped for shipment), parcelle (division of land bought and sold as a unit), empaqueter, emballer, envelopper (to wrap into a package)
GermanPaket (package wrapped for shipment), Parzelle (division of land bought and sold as a unit)
Portuguesepacote, encomenda (package wrapped for shipment), lote, terreno (division of land bought and sold as a unit), empacotar (to wrap into a package)
Spanishpaquete, encomienda (package wrapped for shipment), parcela (division of land bought and sold as a unit), embalar (to wrap into a package), hatajo (indiscriminate number, collection, group), parcelar (to divide and distribute by portions)

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 parcel come from?

From Middle English parcel, from Old French parcelle (“a small piece or part, a parcel, a particle”), from Late Latin particella, diminutive of Latin particula (“particle”), diminutive of partem (“part, piece”). Doublet of particle.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after parcel