petal
/ˈpɛtl̩/
"petal" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“petal” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #27,596 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #27,596
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - 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 fuse...
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | petal |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpɛtl̩/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #27,596 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “petal” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for petal is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpɛtl̩/. Corpus data places it at rank #27,596 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for petal, with forms such as "eptal", "peatl", and "petall". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "PTA", "Pete", "pets", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: 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). The correct English form is petal, spelled P-E-T-A-L.
Definition
- 1One 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.
- 2The labia (majora).
- 3Term of endearment.
- 4A lobe of a rose (geometric shape).
Etymology
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).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: eptal,peatl,petall,petla,pettal,ppetal,pteal
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of petal - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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
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Using “petal”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-E-T-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpɛtl̩/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “PTA” - see the side-by-side comparison. petal vs PTA
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.