petal
pet·al/ˈpɛtl̩/noun, verb
petal is spelled P-E-T-A-L: 5 letters and 2 syllables (pet·al). It appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,462nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “pedal vs petal” about 590 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, petal means “One of the component parts of the corolla of a flower. It applies particularly, but not necessarily only, when the corolla consists of separate…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of petal is petals.
How many letters and syllables are in petal?
| Letters | 5: P-E-T-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: pet·al |
| In writing | 1.1 times per million words; the 27,462nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| 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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is petal?
Petal appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,462nd 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 petal?
- /ˈpɛtl̩/
Petal has 2 syllables, split pet·al in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-petal.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with petal
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with petal?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as petal.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: plate, patel, pleat, palet.
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 petal
- petals plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- petaling US, participle, present
- petalling UK, participle, present
- petaled US, participle, past
- petalled UK, participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does petal mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
One of the component parts of the corolla of a flower. It applies particularly, but not necessarily only, when the corolla consists of separate parts, that is when the petals are not connately fused. Petals are often brightly colored.
- 2
The labia (majora).
- 3
Term of endearment.
- 4
A lobe of a rose (geometric shape).
verb
- 1
To spread out from, like the petals of a flower
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Petal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense one of the component parts of the corolla of a flower:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pétale |
| German | Blütenblatt, Kronblatt |
| Portuguese | pétala |
| Spanish | pétalo |
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 petal come from?
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek πέταλον (pétalon), from πέταλος (pétalos, “broad, flat”), from Proto-Hellenic *pétalos, from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- (“to spread out”), whence Latin pandō and Proto-Germanic *faþmaz (“embrace”) (English fathom).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).