petit

/ˈpɛti/

//ˈpɛti// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

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

The verdict

“petit” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #20,456. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#20,456
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Petite: small, little.

Corpus desk

Index EN-petit · petit · English

petit · rank #20,456 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #20,456
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pendulum

Nearest frequency peer: pendulum (-1 rank slots)

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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “petit”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “petit” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

petit vs pit
60% similar
petit vs pets
60% similar
petit vs Pitt
40% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for petit
PropertyValue
Headwordpetit
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈpɛti/
Letters5
Frequency rank#20,456
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “petit”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).petitlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “pendulum” (#20,455), “petra” (#20,457), “parsley” (#20,454). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “petit” is #20,456. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around petit (IPA /ˈpɛti/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #20,456 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for petit, with forms such as "eptit", "peitt", and "petitt". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "pit", "pets", "Pitt", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English petit, from Old French petit, from Late Latin *pitittus, diminutive of Latin *pit-, possibly from Proto-Celtic *pett- (“part, bit, piece”) (see Latin pettia), or of imitative origin. Compare also Latin pitinnus (“small”), pitulus, Italia… The correct English form is petit, spelled P-E-T-I-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Petite: small, little.
  2. 2
    Petty, in its various senses:
  3. 3
    Petty, in its various senses:
  4. 4
    Petty, in its various senses:
  5. 5
    Petty, in its various senses:

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how petit appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. And by what small, petit Hints does the Mind catch hold of, and recover a vanishing Notion?

Etymology

From Middle English petit, from Old French petit, from Late Latin *pitittus, diminutive of Latin *pit-, possibly from Proto-Celtic *pett- (“part, bit, piece”) (see Latin pettia), or of imitative origin. Compare also Latin pitinnus (“small”), pitulus, Italian pezza. Doublet of petty.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eptit
  • peitt
  • petitt
  • petti
  • pettit
  • ppetit
  • pteit

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of petit - 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.

eptit2peitt2petitt1petti2pettit1ppetit1pteit2
Edit distance from "petit"

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

How do you spell "petit"?
"petit" is spelled P-E-T-I-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɛti/.
What does "petit" mean?
As an adjective, "petit" means: Petite: small, little.
What words are commonly confused with "petit"?
"petit" is commonly confused with "pit", "pets", "Pitt". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "petit"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "petit" is /ˈpɛti/. 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 "petit"?
From Middle English petit, from Old French petit, from Late Latin *pitittus, diminutive of Latin *pit-, possibly from Proto-Celtic *pett- (“part, bit, piece”) (see Latin pettia), or of imitative origin. Compare also Latin pitinnus (“small”), pitul... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "petit", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

petra#20,457polio#20,461Mosul#20,436saver#20,484

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

scarred7 variantslucid7 variantssimmer7 variantsLexus7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list