# Perl

> English word · Proper noun · frequency rank #30,172

## Definitions
1. A family of high-level programming languages, particularly used for text processing.

## Etymology
A respelling of its original name Pearl, a reference to Matthew 13:46.
A common backronymic explanation is “Practical Extraction and Reporting Language”.

## Easily confused with
- **PR** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perl-vs-pr)
- **PL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perl-vs-pl)
- **pro** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perl-vs-pro)
- **pet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perl-vs-pet)
- **ppl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perl-vs-ppl)
- **pol** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perl-vs-pol)
- **pew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perl-vs-pew)
- **PRC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perl-vs-prc)
- **pry** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perl-vs-pry)
- **pes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perl-vs-pes)
- **PRA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perl-vs-pra)
- **pur** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perl-vs-pur)
- **PRS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perl-vs-prs)
- **Pil** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perl-vs-pil)
- **PSL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perl-vs-psl)
- **pir** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perl-vs-pir)
- **pull** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perl-vs-pull)
- **port** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perl-vs-port)
- **pool** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perl-vs-pool)
- **pure** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perl-vs-pure)

## Common misspellings (6)
`eprl`, `pelr`, `perll`, `perrl`, `pperl`, `prel`

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