perma-

prefix

"perma" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency English
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - permanent

Corpus desk

Index EN-perma · perma- · English

perma- · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 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 perma-
PropertyValue
Headwordperma-
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPrefix
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “perma-” in English

perma-ranks 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

perma- is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aprefix. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "permanent".

Zero misspellings are on record for perma- in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Clipping of permanent. The correct English form is perma-, spelled P-E-R-M-A--.

Definition

  1. 1
    permanent

Etymology

Clipping of permanent.

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 "perma-"?
"perma-" is spelled P-E-R-M-A--.
What does "perma-" mean?
As a prefix, "perma-" means: permanent
What is the origin of the word "perma-"?
Clipping of permanent. 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