The correct spelling of the word "palpable" is often confused with it's misspelling "papable". The word means "able to be touched or felt" and is pronounced /ˈpælpəbəl/ (PAL-puh-buhl). The confusion arises because "palpable" derives from the Latin word "palpāre" meaning "to touch" and the letter "b" in "papable" is sometimes mistakenly heard or pronounced due to the similarity of the two letters. However, the correct spelling is "palpable" with no letter "b".