parlor

/ˈpɑːlə/

//ˈpɑːlə// noun

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

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

The verdict

“parlor” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,646. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,646
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
18
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The living room of a house, or a room for entertaining guests; a room for talking; a sitting-room or drawing room.

Corpus desk

Index EN-parlor · parlor · English

parlor · rank #18,646 · 9 variants · 18 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,646
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 18 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH partnering

Nearest frequency peer: partnering (+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 “parlor”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “parlor” 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).

parlor vs parr
67% similar
parlor vs prior
67% similar
parlor vs Pryor
50% similar

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

Key facts for parlor
PropertyValue
Headwordparlor
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɑːlə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#18,646
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs18
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “parlor”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).parlorlands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “partnering” (#18,647), “pancreatic” (#18,644), “pebble” (#18,648). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “parlor” is #18,646. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around parlor (IPA /ˈpɑːlə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,646 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for parlor, with forms such as "aprlor", "palror", and "parllor". 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 18 confusable-pair relationships, "parr", "prior", "Pryor", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English parlour, from Old French parleor, parloir, parleoir, from the verb parler (“to speak”); compare Medieval Latin parlātōrium. Doublet of parloir. The correct English form is parlor, spelled P-A-R-L-O-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    The living room of a house, or a room for entertaining guests; a room for talking; a sitting-room or drawing room.
  2. 2
    The apartment in a monastery or nunnery where the residents are permitted to meet and converse with each other or with visitors from the outside.
  3. 3
    A comfortable room in a public house.
  4. 4
    A covered open-air patio.
  5. 5
    A shop or other business selling goods or services specified by context.
  6. 6
    A shop or other business selling goods or services specified by context.
  7. 7
    A shed used for milking cattle; a milking parlor.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. So, after a spell, he decided to make the best of it and shoved us into the front parlor. 'Twas a dismal sort of place, with hair wreaths, and wax fruit, and tin lambrekins, and land knows what all.
  2. Immediately at hand was a small, mean public-house - one of those dingy establishments that seem to express, by their morbid and retiring appearance, a certain anxiety to escape the eye of the police - and into the parlour of this hostel Quin promptly led the way.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English parlour, from Old French parleor, parloir, parleoir, from the verb parler (“to speak”); compare Medieval Latin parlātōrium. Doublet of parloir.

This word in other languages

sala(Español)parloir(Français)Wohnzimmer(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aprlor
  • palror
  • parllor
  • parlorr
  • parlro
  • parolr
  • parrlor
  • pparlor
  • pralor

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of parlor - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

aprlor2palror2parllor1parlorr1parlro2parolr2parrlor1pparlor1
Edit distance from "parlor"

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 "parlor"?
"parlor" is spelled P-A-R-L-O-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɑːlə/.
What does "parlor" mean?
As a noun, "parlor" means: The living room of a house, or a room for entertaining guests; a room for talking; a sitting-room or drawing room.
What words are commonly confused with "parlor"?
"parlor" is commonly confused with "parr", "prior", "Pryor". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "parlor"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "parlor" is /ˈpɑːlə/. 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 "parlor"?
Inherited from Middle English parlour, from Old French parleor, parloir, parleoir, from the verb parler (“to speak”); compare Medieval Latin parlātōrium. Doublet of parloir. 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 "parlor", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

pebble#18,648peeled#18,649myrtle#18,636pricey#18,660

Similar misspelling depth

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

Orioles9 variantsO'Reilly9 variantsprized9 variantsmilling9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list