potable

/ˈpəʊtəbəl/

//ˈpəʊtəbəl// adj

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

"potable" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“potable” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #35,887. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#35,887
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Good for drinking without fear of waterborne disease or poisoning.

Corpus desk

Index EN-potable · potable · English

potable · rank #35,887 · 11 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #35,887
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH Potsdam

Nearest frequency peer: Potsdam (+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 “potable”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “potable” 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).

potable vs pothole
71% similar
potable vs probable
75% similar
potable vs payable
71% similar

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

Key facts for potable
PropertyValue
Headwordpotable
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈpəʊtəbəl/
Letters7
Frequency rank#35,887
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “potable”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).potablelands 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 “Potsdam” (#35,888), “portraiture” (#35,885), “pout” (#35,889). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “potable” is #35,887. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around potable (IPA /ˈpəʊtəbəl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #35,887 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Good for drinking without fear of waterborne disease or poisoning.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for potable, with forms such as "optable", "poatble", and "potabble". 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 6 confusable-pair relationships, "pothole", "probable", "payable", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: The adjective is derived from Late Middle English potable (“drinkable, potable”), from Middle French, Old French potable (modern French potable (“drinkable, potable”)), and from its etymon Late Latin pōtābilis (“drinkable, potable”), from Latin pōtāre (“to … The correct English form is potable, spelled P-O-T-A-B-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Good for drinking without fear of waterborne disease or poisoning.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. potable water
  2. The water from this river should not be considered potable without disinfection: you may be OK if you drink it raw, but you're gambling if you do so.

Etymology

The adjective is derived from Late Middle English potable (“drinkable, potable”), from Middle French, Old French potable (modern French potable (“drinkable, potable”)), and from its etymon Late Latin pōtābilis (“drinkable, potable”), from Latin pōtāre (“to drink”) + -bilis (suffix forming adjectives indicating a capacity or worth of being acted upon). Pōtāre is the present active infinitive of pōtō (“to drink”), from Proto-Italic *pōtos, from Proto-Indo-European *peh₃- (“to drink”). The English word is cognate with Catalan potable, Italian potabile, Spanish potable. The noun is derived from the adjective.

This word in other languages

potable(Español)potable(Français)trinkbar(Deutsch)potável(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • optable
  • poatble
  • potabble
  • potabel
  • potablle
  • potalbe
  • potbale
  • potible
  • pottable
  • ppotable
  • ptoable

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

optable2poatble2potabble1potabel2potablle1potalbe2potbale2potible1
Edit distance from "potable"

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 "potable"?
"potable" is spelled P-O-T-A-B-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpəʊtəbəl/.
What does "potable" mean?
As an adjective, "potable" means: Good for drinking without fear of waterborne disease or poisoning.
What words are commonly confused with "potable"?
"potable" is commonly confused with "pothole", "probable", "payable". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "potable"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "potable" is /ˈpəʊtəbəl/. 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 "potable"?
The adjective is derived from Late Middle English potable (“drinkable, potable”), from Middle French, Old French potable (modern French potable (“drinkable, potable”)), and from its etymon Late Latin pōtābilis (“drinkable, potable”), from Latin pō... 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 "potable", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Potsdam#35,888puffing#35,895raceway#35,902rafting#35,903

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

reentry11 variantsmobster11 variantssorghum11 variantssprites11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list