paillasse

\pa.jas\

/\pa.jas\/ noun

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

The verdict

“paillasse” is uncommon French (frequency #53,531 among 248,534 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#53,531
frequency rank, French
248,534
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Grande enveloppe de toile, ordinairement remplie de paille, dont on garnissait un lit.

Key facts for paillasse
PropertyValue
Headwordpaillasse
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\pa.jas\
Letters9
Frequency rank#53,531
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “paillasse” 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). paillasse lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

paillasse is uncommon French at frequency #53,531 among 248,534 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \pa.jas\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 8 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for paillasse, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is paillasse, spelled P-A-I-L-L-A-S-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Grande enveloppe de toile, ordinairement remplie de paille, dont on garnissait un lit.
  2. 2
    Ventre.
  3. 3
    Corbeille en paille, utilisée par les boulangers (voir paneton).
  4. 4
    Tapis de joncs servant à faire sécher le fromage. → voir paillisse
  5. 5
    Plan de travail dans un laboratoire de biologie, de chimie, etc., dans un atelier ou une cuisine.
  6. 6
    Partie de l’évier qui sert à égoutter la vaisselle.
  7. 7
    Dalle inclinée qui supporte les marches et les contremarches d'un escalier.
  8. 8
    Partie maçonnée d’une forge.

Synonyms

bassaque

This word in other languages

bench(English)jergón(Español)Strohsack(Deutsch)enxerga(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 "paillasse"?
"paillasse" is spelled P-A-I-L-L-A-S-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is \pa.jas\.
What does "paillasse" mean?
As a noun, "paillasse" means: Grande enveloppe de toile, ordinairement remplie de paille, dont on garnissait un lit.
How do you pronounce "paillasse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "paillasse" is \pa.jas\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "paillasse" come from?
"paillasse" 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 “paillasse”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is P-A-I-L-L-A-S-S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \pa.jas\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Other uncommon French words near this rank

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