pawpaw
/ˈpɔːpɔː/
"pawpaw" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pawpaw” is uncommon English (frequency #88,696 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #88,696
- frequency rank, English
- 46,516
- “P” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of several types of trees having edible fruit:
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pawpaw |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpɔːpɔː/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #88,696 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “pawpaw” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
pawpaw is uncommon English at frequency #88,696 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpɔːpɔː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for pawpaw, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: Via Portuguese and Spanish papaya (which is botanically unrelated) from Lokono papáia; compare also Kari'na kapaja. Doublet of papaya. Alternatively from Yuchi pahpah. The correct English form is pawpaw, spelled P-A-W-P-A-W.
Definition
- 1Any of several types of trees having edible fruit:
- 2Any of several types of trees having edible fruit:
- 3Any of several types of trees having edible fruit:
- 4The fruit of these trees.
Etymology
Via Portuguese and Spanish papaya (which is botanically unrelated) from Lokono papáia; compare also Kari'na kapaja. Doublet of papaya. Alternatively from Yuchi pahpah.
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
How do you spell "pawpaw"?
What does "pawpaw" mean?
How do you pronounce "pawpaw"?
What is the origin of the word "pawpaw"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “pawpaw”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-A-W-P-A-W - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpɔːpɔː/ (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.