préhistoire
\pʁe.is.twaʁ\
The verdict
“préhistoire” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #18,569 in French word frequency and used as a noun.
- #18,569
- frequency rank, French
- 11
- letters
- 17
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Période de l'histoire de l'humanité antérieure à l’apparition de l’écriture.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | préhistoire |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \pʁe.is.twaʁ\ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #18,569 |
| Misspellings tracked | 17 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “préhistoire” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for préhistoire is 11 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \pʁe.is.twaʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #18,569 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for préhistoire, with forms such as "ppréhistoire", "prehistoire", and "prhéistoire". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
No borrowing history is documented 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 préhistoire, spelled P-R-É-H-I-S-T-O-I-R-E.
Definition
- 1Période de l'histoire de l'humanité antérieure à l’apparition de l’écriture.
- 2Science qui étudie cette période.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ppréhistoire,prehistoire,prhéistoire,prréhistoire,préhhistoire,préhisotire,préhisstoire,préhistiore,préhistoier,préhistoirre,préhistorie,préhisttoire,préhitsoire,préhsitoire,préihstoire,pérhistoire,rpéhistoire
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of préhistoire - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "préhistoire"?
What does "préhistoire" mean?
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What language does "préhistoire" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “préhistoire”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is P-R-É-H-I-S-T-O-I-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \pʁe.is.twaʁ\ (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.