portemanteau
\pɔʁt.mɑ̃.to\
The verdict
“portemanteau” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Structure sur pied ou accrochée au mur garnie de patères auxquelles on suspend des manteaux et d’autres vêtements.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | portemanteau |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \pɔʁt.mɑ̃.to\ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “portemanteau” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for portemanteau is 12 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \pɔʁt.mɑ̃.to\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for portemanteau, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is portemanteau, spelled P-O-R-T-E-M-A-N-T-E-A-U.
Definition
- 1Structure sur pied ou accrochée au mur garnie de patères auxquelles on suspend des manteaux et d’autres vêtements.
- 2Étui cylindrique en drap que les cavaliers attachent à la selle et qui peut contenir un manteau et des effets de petit équipement.
- 3Sorte de valise.
- 4Personne chargée de porter le manteau du roi ou de la reine.
- 5Sac contenant les vêtements d'une personne qui voyage.
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
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Using “portemanteau”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is P-O-R-T-E-M-A-N-T-E-A-U - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \pɔʁt.mɑ̃.to\ (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.