paternoster
/ˈpɑːtəˌnɒstə(ɹ)/
"paternoster" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“paternoster” is an uncommon English word, ranked #81,685 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #81,685
- frequency rank, English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The Lord's Prayer, especially in a Roman Catholic context.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | paternoster |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpɑːtəˌnɒstə(ɹ)/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #81,685 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “paternoster” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for paternoster is 11 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpɑːtəˌnɒstə(ɹ)/. Corpus data places it at rank #81,685 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
paternoster doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English paternoster, pater noster, from Old English Paternoster, from Latin Pater noster (“our father”) (the first two words of the Oratio Dominica (“the Lord's prayer”)), from pater (“father”) + noster (“our”). The lift and the fishing equipmen… The correct English form is paternoster, spelled P-A-T-E-R-N-O-S-T-E-R.
Definition
- 1The Lord's Prayer, especially in a Roman Catholic context.
- 2A slow, continuously moving lift or elevator consisting of a loop of open-fronted cabins running the height of a building.
- 3A bead-like ornament in mouldings.
- 4A tackle rig with a heavy sinker at the end of the line, and one or more hooks on traces at right angles spaced above the sinker.
- 5A string of beads used in counting prayers that are said.
- 6Every eleventh bead in a rosary, at which, while counting the beads, the Lord's Prayer is to be repeated.
- 7A medieval artisan who crafted rosary beads or prayer nuts.
- 8A patent medicine, so named because salesmen would pray the Lord's Prayer over it before selling it.
Etymology
From Middle English paternoster, pater noster, from Old English Paternoster, from Latin Pater noster (“our father”) (the first two words of the Oratio Dominica (“the Lord's prayer”)), from pater (“father”) + noster (“our”). The lift and the fishing equipment are named from their resemblance to a rosary.
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); 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
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Using “paternoster”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-A-T-E-R-N-O-S-T-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpɑːtəˌnɒstə(ɹ)/ (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
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.