caravelle

\ka.ʁa.vɛl\

/\ka.ʁa.vɛl\/ noun

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

The verdict

“caravelle” is uncommon French (frequency #51,338 among 8,609 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,338
frequency rank, French
8,609
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Sorte de petit bâtiment à voiles latines dont se servaient les explorateurs portugais et espagnols.

Corpus desk

Index FR-caravelle · caravelle · French

caravelle · rank #51,338 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #51,338
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,609
  • PHOTO-FINISH castré

Nearest frequency peer: castré (+1 rank slots)

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.

Rangs de longue queue près de « caravelle »

Bande clairsemée: les barres inversent le rang pour que le rare se lise plus court

corpus weight

What this shows Vue de longue queue: où « caravelle » se situe face à des rangs français aussi rares.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for caravelle
PropertyValue
Headwordcaravelle
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ka.ʁa.vɛl\
Letters9
Frequency rank#51,338
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « caravelle » en français

La fréquence va de la poignée de mots du quotidien (gauche) à la longue queue presque jamais vue (droite).caravelletombe dans cette queue de rareté:

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

L'échelle est logarithmique (chaque tic ≈ 10× plus rare). Voisins rares de la même bande: « castré » (#51,339), « cappella » (#51,336), « cant » (#51,335). Parmi 8,609 lemmes en « C », « caravelle » est au #51,338. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

caravelle is uncommon French at frequency #51,338 among 8,609 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \ka.ʁa.vɛl\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

caravelle has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is caravelle, spelled C-A-R-A-V-E-L-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sorte de petit bâtiment à voiles latines dont se servaient les explorateurs portugais et espagnols.
  2. 2
    Sorte de bateaux dont on se servait pour la pêche des harengs.
  3. 3
    Modèle d’avion de transport civil français à réacteurs lancé en 1955.
  4. 4
    Modèle coupé automobile de marque Renault des années 1960.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Des hauteurs de Bon-Secours on distingue, dans la brume, la glorieuse cathédrale comme un dreadnought à l’ancre, comme une caravelle fantastique dominant une flotte enfumée.
  2. Et pense que j’ai rencontré au large des Célèbes il y a dix ans, des caravelles arabes à la dérive, […].

This word in other languages

caravel(English)carabela(Español)Karavelle(Deutsch)caravela(Português)

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "caravelle"?
"caravelle" is spelled C-A-R-A-V-E-L-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ka.ʁa.vɛl\.
What does "caravelle" mean?
As a noun, "caravelle" means: Sorte de petit bâtiment à voiles latines dont se servaient les explorateurs portugais et espagnols.
How do you pronounce "caravelle"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "caravelle" is \ka.ʁa.vɛl\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "caravelle" come from?
"caravelle" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 French words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Bélisaire#51,328bruitages#51,324brancards#51,321blacklist#51,312

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list