étale

\e.tal\

/\e.tal\/ adj

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

The verdict

“étale” has 7 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #17,318. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,318
frequency rank, French
40,273
“É” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Qui est stationnaire.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

étale vs été
40% similar
étale vs état
60% similar
étale vs etre
40% similar

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

Key facts for étale
PropertyValue
Headwordétale
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\e.tal\
Letters5
Frequency rank#17,318
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “étale” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). étale lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around étale (IPA \e.tal\), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #17,318 among 40,273 “É” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for étale, with forms such as "etale", "téale", and "éatle". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "été", "état", "etre", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is étale, spelled É-T-A-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui est stationnaire.
  2. 2
    Qualifie la mer qui ne monte ni ne descend à la fin du flot ou du jusant.
  3. 3
    Qualifie un fleuve en crue qui a fini de grossir sans avoir encore commencé à baisser.
  4. 4
    Qualifie un navire qui n’avance ni ne recule.
  5. 5
    Qualifie une ancre qui s’est fixée au fond.
  6. 6
    Qualifie un cordage qui s’arrête après avoir filé.
  7. 7
    Qualifie un vent dont la vitesse reste la même.
  8. 8
    Qualifie un filet fixe.
  9. 9
    Qui ne comporte aucune irrégularité, aucun imprévu, aucun mouvement brusque.
  10. 10
    Qui n’est ni à la hausse, ni à la baisse.
  11. 11
    Qualifie une fonction en un point, qui y est différentiable, et dont la différentielle est un isomorphisme.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • etale
  • téale
  • éatle
  • étael
  • étalle
  • étlae
  • éttale

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of étale - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

etale1téale2éatle2étael2étalle1étlae2éttale1
Edit distance from "étale"

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 "étale"?
"étale" is spelled É-T-A-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is \e.tal\.
What does "étale" mean?
As an adjective, "étale" means: Qui est stationnaire.
What words are commonly confused with "étale"?
"étale" is commonly confused with "été", "état", "etre". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "étale"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "étale" is \e.tal\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "étale" come from?
"étale" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Using “étale”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is É-T-A-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \e.tal\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “été” - see the side-by-side comparison. étale vs été
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Same frequency band

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list