appellatif

\a.pɛ.la.tif\

/\a.pɛ.la.tif\/ adj

The verdict

“appellatif” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Qualifie un nom commun à toute une espèce, ou à tout un genre, par opposition à nom propre.

Corpus desk

Index FR-appellatif · appellatif · French

appellatif · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "A" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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 appellatif
PropertyValue
Headwordappellatif
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\a.pɛ.la.tif\
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « appellatif » en français

appellatifsiège au-delà des 100.000 formes les plus fréquentes du français, dans la traîne du lexique spécialisé ou peu usité.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

appellatif is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \a.pɛ.la.tif\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

appellatif has no tracked misspelling variants, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is appellatif, spelled A-P-P-E-L-L-A-T-I-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qualifie un nom commun à toute une espèce, ou à tout un genre, par opposition à nom propre.
  2. 2
    Se dit de sons qui se marient bien ensemble, entre lesquels il semble y avoir une affinité

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Homme, arbre sont des noms appellatifs.
  2. Le nom commun ou appellatif est celui qui convient à tout un genre, à toute une espèce; ainsi le mot arbre est un nom appellatif, parce qu’il comprend la classe des végétaux pourvus de qualités semblables qui les ont fait ranger sous cette dénomination.

Synonyms

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 "appellatif"?
"appellatif" is spelled A-P-P-E-L-L-A-T-I-F. The IPA pronunciation is \a.pɛ.la.tif\.
What does "appellatif" mean?
As an adjective, "appellatif" means: Qualifie un nom commun à toute une espèce, ou à tout un genre, par opposition à nom propre.
How do you pronounce "appellatif"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "appellatif" is \a.pɛ.la.tif\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "appellatif" come from?
"appellatif" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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