planchette

/plænˈʃɛt/

//plænˈʃɛt// noun

"planchette" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A small plank.

Corpus desk

Index EN-planchette · planchette · English

planchette · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 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 planchette
PropertyValue
Headwordplanchette
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/plænˈʃɛt/
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “planchette” in English

planchetteranks 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

planchette is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /plænˈʃɛt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

planchette has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French planchette. By surface analysis, French planche + -ette. The correct English form is planchette, spelled P-L-A-N-C-H-E-T-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A small plank.
  2. 2
    A type of Ouija board. (A small tablet of wood supported on casters and having a pencil attached. The characters produced by the pencil on paper, while the hand rests on the instrument and it is allowed to move, are sometimes interpreted as of oracular or supernatural import.)
  3. 3
    A plane table.
  4. 4
    One of the round colored dots pressed into paper money, used to distinguish authentic currency from counterfeit currency.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Some general security features to look for in both Canadian and American currency are . . .small green dots or "planchettes" randomly embedded throughout the paper that glow under ultraviolet light.

Etymology

Borrowed from French planchette. By surface analysis, French planche + -ette.

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 "planchette"?
"planchette" is spelled P-L-A-N-C-H-E-T-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /plænˈʃɛt/.
What does "planchette" mean?
As a noun, "planchette" means: A small plank.
How do you pronounce "planchette"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "planchette" is /plænˈʃɛt/. 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 "planchette"?
Borrowed from French planchette. By surface analysis, French planche + -ette. 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