au préalable
\o pʁe.a.labl\
The verdict
“au préalable” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Auparavant ; avant toutes choses.
Corpus desk
Index FR-au-prealable · au préalable · French
au préalable · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 12 letters
- VOW-6 6 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | au préalable |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | \o pʁe.a.labl\ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « au préalable » en français
Rare enough to double-check
au préalable is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \o pʁe.a.labl\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Auparavant ; avant toutes choses.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for au préalable, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is au préalable, spelled A-U- -P-R-É-A-L-A-B-L-E.
Definition
- 1Auparavant ; avant toutes choses.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how au préalable appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Veut-elle être maîtresse d'école? buraliste? télégraphiste? Les administrations exigent d'elle au préalable un certificat de bonne vie et mœurs, et, comme elle ne peut en produire, on biffe sa candidature.
Habituellement les terrains mouilleux qu'on veut planter sont assainis au préalable et le creusement des fossés de drainage set à faire des buttes ou des remblais.
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.