patellar

/pəˈtɛl.ɚ/

//pəˈtɛl.ɚ// adj

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

"patellar" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“patellar” is uncommon English (frequency #78,923 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#78,923
frequency rank, English
46,516
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - near or relating to the patella or kneecap

Key facts for patellar
PropertyValue
Headwordpatellar
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/pəˈtɛl.ɚ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#78,923
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “patellar” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). patellar lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

patellar is uncommon English at frequency #78,923 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /pəˈtɛl.ɚ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "near or relating to the patella or kneecap".

No misspelling variants are generated for patellar in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From patella + -ar. The correct English form is patellar, spelled P-A-T-E-L-L-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    near or relating to the patella or kneecap

Etymology

From patella + -ar.

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 "patellar"?
"patellar" is spelled P-A-T-E-L-L-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is /pəˈtɛl.ɚ/.
What does "patellar" mean?
As an adjective, "patellar" means: near or relating to the patella or kneecap
How do you pronounce "patellar"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "patellar" is /pəˈtɛl.ɚ/. 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 "patellar"?
From patella + -ar. 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.

Using “patellar”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-A-T-E-L-L-A-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /pəˈtɛl.ɚ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list