peripatetic

/ˌpɛɹ.ɪ.pəˈtɛt.ɪk/

//ˌpɛɹ.ɪ.pəˈtɛt.ɪk// adj

"peripatetic" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“peripatetic” is uncommon English (frequency #66,190 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#66,190
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Tending to walk about.

Corpus desk

Index EN-peripatetic · peripatetic · English

peripatetic · rank #66,190 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #66,190
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pergola

Nearest frequency peer: pergola (-1 rank slots)

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.

Long-tail ranks near “peripatetic”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “peripatetic” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for peripatetic
PropertyValue
Headwordperipatetic
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌpɛɹ.ɪ.pəˈtɛt.ɪk/
Letters11
Frequency rank#66,190
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “peripatetic” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).peripateticfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “pergola” (#66,189), “penetrative” (#66,186), “Pierpont” (#66,194). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “peripatetic” is #66,190. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

peripatetic is uncommon English at frequency #66,190 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˌpɛɹ.ɪ.pəˈtɛt.ɪk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for peripatetic, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French péripatétique, from Latin peripatēticus, from Ancient Greek περιπατητικός (peripatētikós, “given to walking around”), from περιπατέω (peripatéō, “I walk around”), from περί (perí, “around”) (English peri-)+ πατέω (patéō, “I walk”). The correct English form is peripatetic, spelled P-E-R-I-P-A-T-E-T-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Tending to walk about.
  2. 2
    Constantly travelling.
  3. 3
    Alternative letter-case form of Peripatetic.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. After peripatetic upbringing that took her from America to Portugal, Switzerland, Belgium and England, [Mary-Kay] Wilmers read French and Russian at Oxford.
  2. The true peripatetic school.

Etymology

From French péripatétique, from Latin peripatēticus, from Ancient Greek περιπατητικός (peripatētikós, “given to walking around”), from περιπατέω (peripatéō, “I walk around”), from περί (perí, “around”) (English peri-)+ πατέω (patéō, “I walk”).

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 "peripatetic"?
"peripatetic" is spelled P-E-R-I-P-A-T-E-T-I-C. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌpɛɹ.ɪ.pəˈtɛt.ɪk/.
What does "peripatetic" mean?
As an adjective, "peripatetic" means: Tending to walk about.
How do you pronounce "peripatetic"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "peripatetic" is /ˌpɛɹ.ɪ.pəˈtɛt.ɪk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "peripatetic"?
From French péripatétique, from Latin peripatēticus, from Ancient Greek περιπατητικός (peripatētikós, “given to walking around”), from περιπατέω (peripatéō, “I walk around”), from περί (perí, “around”) (English peri-)+ πατέω (patéō, “I walk”). 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "peripatetic", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list