alalia
/əˈleɪliə/
"alalia" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“alalia” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The loss of the ability to speak, especially due to paralysis of the vocal cords.
Corpus desk
Index EN-alalia · alalia · English
alalia · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-4 4 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 | alalia |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /əˈleɪliə/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “alalia” in English
Rare enough to double-check
alalia is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /əˈleɪliə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for alalia, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From a- (“without”) + -lalia (“speech”). The correct English form is alalia, spelled A-L-A-L-I-A.
Definition
- 1The loss of the ability to speak, especially due to paralysis of the vocal cords.
- 2Speech delay, a delay in the development or use of the mechanisms that produce speech.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how alalia appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
A striking case of amnesic alalia was that of Lordat, a French physician, who thus described his malady: "I find myself deprived of the value of all words.[…]"
The other major exception, characters with Down syndrome (a condition that often includes among its symptoms alalia, or speech delay), are usually played by actors with Down syndrome[…].
Etymology
From a- (“without”) + -lalia (“speech”).
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.