alack
/əˈlæk/
"alack" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“alack” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an interjection. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An expression of sorrow or mourning.
Corpus desk
Index EN-alack · alack · English
alack · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "A" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | alack |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Interjection |
| IPA | /əˈlæk/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “alack” in English
Rare enough to double-check
alack is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aninterjection, transcribed /əˈlæk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An expression of sorrow or mourning.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for alack, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English alacke, alagge, probably from ah + lack. The correct English form is alack, spelled A-L-A-C-K.
Definition
- 1An expression of sorrow or mourning.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how alack appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
On a day, alack the day: / Loue, whoſe Month is euery May, / Spied a bloſſome paſſing faire, / Playing in the wanton ayre:
Alack, would that Edward listened more to me and less to the queen’s kith! These Woodvilles!
Etymology
From Middle English alacke, alagge, probably from ah + lack.
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.