# pelt

> English word · Noun · IPA /pɛlt/ · frequency rank #33,360

## Definitions
1. The skin of an animal with the hair or wool on; either a raw or undressed hide, or a skin preserved with the hair or wool on it (sometimes worn as a garment with minimal modification).
2. The skin of an animal (especially a goat or sheep) with the hair or wool removed, often in preparation for tanning.
3. The fur or hair of a living animal.
4. Human skin, especially when bare; also, a person's hair.
5. A garment made from animal skins.
6. The body of any quarry killed by a hawk; also, a dead bird given to a hawk for food.

## Etymology
The noun is inherited from Middle English pelt (“skin of a sheep, especially without the wool”); further etymology uncertain, possibly:
* from Middle English pellet (“skin of an animal, especially a sheep”), from Anglo-Norman pelette, pellet, and Old French pelete, pelette (“thin layer, film, skin; epidermis; foreskin”), from pel (“skin; garment made of animal skin, pelisse”) (from Latin pellis (“animal skin, hide, pelt; leather; garment made of animal skin”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to cover; to wrap; hide; skin; cloth”)) + -ete (diminutive suffix); or
* from Late Latin peletta, pelleta, pelletta (“skin of an animal, especially a sheep”).
The verb is derived from the noun.
Cognates
* Norwegian Bokmål pels (“fur; fur coat”)
* Norwegian Nynorsk pels (“fur; fur coat”)

## Easily confused with
- **pt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pelt-vs-pt)
- **PL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pelt-vs-pl)
- **put** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pelt-vs-put)
- **per** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pelt-vs-per)
- **pet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pelt-vs-pet)
- **pot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pelt-vs-pot)
- **pen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pelt-vs-pen)
- **pit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pelt-vs-pit)
- **ppl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pelt-vs-ppl)
- **PLC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pelt-vs-plc)
- **pep** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pelt-vs-pep)
- **pol** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pelt-vs-pol)
- **pew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pelt-vs-pew)
- **PST** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pelt-vs-pst)
- **PLA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pelt-vs-pla)
- **ply** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pelt-vs-ply)
- **pes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pelt-vs-pes)
- **Pil** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pelt-vs-pil)
- **PSL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pelt-vs-psl)
- **PPT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pelt-vs-ppt)

## Common misspellings (6)
`eplt`, `pellt`, `peltt`, `petl`, `plet`, `ppelt`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/pelt