parley

/ˈpɑː(ɹ)li/

//ˈpɑː(ɹ)li// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

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

The verdict

“parley” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #46,678. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#46,678
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A conference, especially one between enemies.

Corpus desk

Index EN-parley · parley · English

parley · rank #46,678 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #46,678
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH Pappas

Nearest frequency peer: Pappas (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “parley”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “parley” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

parley vs prey
67% similar
parley vs party
67% similar
parley vs parry
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for parley
PropertyValue
Headwordparley
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɑː(ɹ)li/
Letters6
Frequency rank#46,678
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “parley”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).parleylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Pappas” (#46,677), “palatial” (#46,676), “paucity” (#46,680). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “parley” is #46,678. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around parley (IPA /ˈpɑː(ɹ)li/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #46,678 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A conference, especially one between enemies.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for parley, with forms such as "aprley", "palrey", and "parely". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "prey", "party", "parry", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English parlai (“speech, parley”), from Old French parler (“to talk; to speak”), from Late Latin parabolō, from Latin parabola (“comparison”), from Ancient Greek παραβολή (parabolḗ), from παρά (pará, “beside”) with βολή (bolḗ, “throwing”). Doubl… The correct English form is parley, spelled P-A-R-L-E-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A conference, especially one between enemies.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. We yield on parley, but are stormed in vain.
  2. Without further parley Garland rode off up the hog's-back and the sheriff rode off down it [...]

Etymology

From Middle English parlai (“speech, parley”), from Old French parler (“to talk; to speak”), from Late Latin parabolō, from Latin parabola (“comparison”), from Ancient Greek παραβολή (parabolḗ), from παρά (pará, “beside”) with βολή (bolḗ, “throwing”). Doublet of palaver.

This word in other languages

conversación(Español)pourparlers(Français)Unterredung(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aprley
  • palrey
  • parely
  • parleyy
  • parlley
  • parlye
  • parrley
  • pparley
  • praley

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of parley - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

aprley2palrey2parely2parleyy1parlley1parlye2parrley1pparley1
Edit distance from "parley"

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 "parley"?
"parley" is spelled P-A-R-L-E-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɑː(ɹ)li/.
What does "parley" mean?
As a noun, "parley" means: A conference, especially one between enemies.
What words are commonly confused with "parley"?
"parley" is commonly confused with "prey", "party", "parry". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "parley"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "parley" is /ˈpɑː(ɹ)li/. 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 "parley"?
From Middle English parlai (“speech, parley”), from Old French parler (“to talk; to speak”), from Late Latin parabolō, from Latin parabola (“comparison”), from Ancient Greek παραβολή (parabolḗ), from παρά (pará, “beside”) with βολή (bolḗ, “throwin... 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 "parley", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Pappas#46,677Pavlov#46,682offing#46,667musing#46,643

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

peddler9 variantspulleys9 variantsraster9 variantsmonger9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list