peradventure

adv

"peradventure" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“peradventure” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Perchance or maybe; perhaps; supposing.

Corpus desk

Index EN-peradventure · peradventure · English

peradventure · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "P" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for peradventure
PropertyValue
Headwordperadventure
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “peradventure” in English

peradventureranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

peradventure is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Perchance or maybe; perhaps; supposing.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for peradventure, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English peraventure, peradventure, from Old French par aventure. Spelling modified as though from Latin. Equivalent to per- + adventure. The correct English form is peradventure, spelled P-E-R-A-D-V-E-N-T-U-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Perchance or maybe; perhaps; supposing.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. For be God the Propheit was commandit to stand in the entress of the Lordis house, and to speik to all the cieties of Juda that come to wirschip in the house of the Lord; and was commandit to keip no word aback, gif peradventure, sayeth the Lord, thay will herkin and turne everie man frome his wickit way.
  2. Beſides he tells me, that, if peraduenture / He ſpeake againſt me on the aduerse ſide, / I ſhould not thinke it ſtrange, for 'tis a phyſicke / That's bitter, to ſweet end.

Etymology

From Middle English peraventure, peradventure, from Old French par aventure. Spelling modified as though from Latin. Equivalent to per- + adventure.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "peradventure"?
"peradventure" is spelled P-E-R-A-D-V-E-N-T-U-R-E.
What does "peradventure" mean?
As an adverb, "peradventure" means: Perchance or maybe; perhaps; supposing.
What is the origin of the word "peradventure"?
From Middle English peraventure, peradventure, from Old French par aventure. Spelling modified as though from Latin. Equivalent to per- + adventure. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list