poisson volant

\pwa.sɔ̃ vɔ.lɑ̃\

/\pwa.sɔ̃ vɔ.lɑ̃\/ noun

The verdict

“poisson volant” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
14
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Poisson osseux marin de la famille des exocétidés (les exocets), aux nageoires pectorales très développées lui permettant d’effectuer des sauts hors de l’eau et de planer (glisser) sur une certaine...

Key facts for poisson volant
PropertyValue
Headwordpoisson volant
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\pwa.sɔ̃ vɔ.lɑ̃\
Letters14
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “poisson volant” sits in French frequency

poisson volant falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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

Rare enough to double-check

poisson volant is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \pwa.sɔ̃ vɔ.lɑ̃\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for poisson volant in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is poisson volant, spelled P-O-I-S-S-O-N- -V-O-L-A-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Poisson osseux marin de la famille des exocétidés (les exocets), aux nageoires pectorales très développées lui permettant d’effectuer des sauts hors de l’eau et de planer (glisser) sur une certaine distance au-dessus de la surface de la mer.
  2. 2
    Poisson marin dont les nageoires pectorales très développées évoquent des « ailes » et qui peut faire de brefs sauts hors de l’eau, sans appartenir aux exocétidés (poissons volants au sens strict).

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 "poisson volant"?
"poisson volant" is spelled P-O-I-S-S-O-N- -V-O-L-A-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is \pwa.sɔ̃ vɔ.lɑ̃\.
What does "poisson volant" mean?
As a noun, "poisson volant" means: Poisson osseux marin de la famille des exocétidés (les exocets), aux nageoires pectorales très développées lui permettant d’effectuer des sauts hors de l’eau et de planer (glisser) sur une certaine...
How do you pronounce "poisson volant"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "poisson volant" is \pwa.sɔ̃ vɔ.lɑ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "poisson volant" come from?
"poisson volant" 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 “poisson volant”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is P-O-I-S-S-O-N- -V-O-L-A-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \pwa.sɔ̃ vɔ.lɑ̃\ (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
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