pétanque

/pəˈtɑːŋk/

//pəˈtɑːŋk// noun

"petanque" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A form of boules originating from the south of France.

Corpus desk

Index EN-petanque · pétanque · English

pétanque · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 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 pétanque
PropertyValue
Headwordpétanque
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pəˈtɑːŋk/
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “pétanque” in English

pétanqueranks 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

pétanque is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /pəˈtɑːŋk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A form of boules originating from the south of France.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for pétanque in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French. The correct English form is pétanque, spelled P-É-T-A-N-Q-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A form of boules originating from the south of France.

Etymology

From French.

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pétanque"?
"pétanque" is spelled P-É-T-A-N-Q-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is /pəˈtɑːŋk/.
What does "pétanque" mean?
As a noun, "pétanque" means: A form of boules originating from the south of France.
How do you pronounce "pétanque"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pétanque" is /pəˈtɑːŋk/. 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 "pétanque"?
From French. 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