postillon

\pɔs.ti.jɔ̃\

/\pɔs.ti.jɔ̃\/ noun

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

The verdict

“postillon” is uncommon French (frequency #91,046 among 6,826 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#91,046
frequency rank, French
6,826
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Celui qui menait en le montant un des chevaux d’un attelage.

Corpus desk

Index FR-postillon · postillon · French

postillon · rank #91,046 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #91,046
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,826
  • PHOTO-FINISH ponctuant

Nearest frequency peer: ponctuant (-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 « postillon »

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 « postillon » se situe face à des rangs français aussi rares.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for postillon
PropertyValue
Headwordpostillon
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\pɔs.ti.jɔ̃\
Letters9
Frequency rank#91,046
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « postillon » en français

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).postillontombe dans cette queue de rareté:

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

Les tics avancent en logarithme; chacun est de l'ordre de dix fois plus rare. Voisins rares de la même bande: « ponctuant » (#91,045), « postulation » (#91,047), « ponceuse » (#91,044). Parmi 6,826 lemmes en « P », « postillon » est au #91,046. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

postillon is uncommon French at frequency #91,046 among 6,826 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \pɔs.ti.jɔ̃\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

postillon doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

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 postillon, spelled P-O-S-T-I-L-L-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Celui qui menait en le montant un des chevaux d’un attelage.
  2. 2
    Homme attaché au service de la poste aux chevaux.
  3. 3
    Gouttelette de salive que l’on projette en parlant.
  4. 4
    Vin de table produit par la marque "Vin (puis Vins) du Postillon", créée en 1862.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. […], les claquements de fouet d’un postillon comptant sur un large pourboire apprirent le retour des deux soldats à leurs familles.
  2. Sans cesse, je lui fournis des chevaux pour des parties de plaisir dans les bois de Burelviller, que vous voyez là-bas, au bout de la plaine ; et Dieu sait ce qu’on fait dans ces bois ! L’on enivre toujours mes postillons, pour les empêcher de voir et d’entendre. Du diable si, en rentrant, ils peuvent me dire un mot.

This word in other languages

postilion(English)postillón(Español)Postillion(Deutsch)

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 "postillon"?
"postillon" is spelled P-O-S-T-I-L-L-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \pɔs.ti.jɔ̃\.
What does "postillon" mean?
As a noun, "postillon" means: Celui qui menait en le montant un des chevaux d’un attelage.
How do you pronounce "postillon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "postillon" is \pɔs.ti.jɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "postillon" come from?
"postillon" 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 "postillon", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

ponctuant#91,045prestiges#91,050profilait#91,052pélagique#91,068

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list