percale
/pəˈkeɪl/noun
percale is spelled P-E-R-C-A-L-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 40 million words in written English, the 194,306th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, percale means “A fine, closely woven fabric, made from cotton, polyester or a mix of these, and used for sheets and clothing” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of percale is percales.
How many letters and syllables are in percale?
| Letters | 7: P-E-R-C-A-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 40 million words; the 194,306th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is percale?
Percale appears about once in every 40 million words in written English, the 194,306th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce percale?
- UK /pəˈkeɪl/
- UK /pəˈkɑːl/
Percale has 2 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What rhymes with percale?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as percale from its last stressed vowel (/eɪl/, British pronunciation):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: replace.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of percale
- percales plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does percale mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A fine, closely woven fabric, made from cotton, polyester or a mix of these, and used for sheets and clothing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Percale in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense textile:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does percale come from?
From French percale, of uncertain origin; probably compare percaulah.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).