allay

/əˈleɪ/

//əˈleɪ// verb

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

"allay" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“allay” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #41,993. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#41,993
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm.

Corpus desk

Index EN-allay · allay · English

allay · rank #41,993 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #41,993
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH anachronistic

Nearest frequency peer: anachronistic (+1 rank slots)

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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “allay”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “allay” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

allay vs away
60% similar
allay vs ally
80% similar
allay vs alma
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for allay
PropertyValue
Headwordallay
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/əˈleɪ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#41,993
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “allay”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).allaylands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “anachronistic” (#41,994), “algal” (#41,991), “Alessandra” (#41,990). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “allay” is #41,993. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around allay (IPA /əˈleɪ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #41,993 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for allay, with forms such as "alaly", "alay", and "allayy". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "away", "ally", "alma", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English alayen, aleyen, aleggen, from Old English āleċġan (“to put, place, lay down, lay aside, throw down, give up, cease from, abandon; put down, allay, suppress, abolish, conquer, destroy, overcome, refute; lay upon, inflict, impose upon; dim… The correct English form is allay, spelled A-L-L-A-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm.
  2. 2
    To alleviate; to abate; to mitigate.
  3. 3
    To subside, abate, become peaceful.
  4. 4
    To mix (metals); to mix with a baser metal; to alloy; to deteriorate.
  5. 5
    To make worse by the introduction of inferior elements.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. to allay popular excitement
  2. to allay the tumult of the passions

Etymology

From Middle English alayen, aleyen, aleggen, from Old English āleċġan (“to put, place, lay down, lay aside, throw down, give up, cease from, abandon; put down, allay, suppress, abolish, conquer, destroy, overcome, refute; lay upon, inflict, impose upon; diminish, take away, refuse, lessen, withhold”), from Proto-Germanic *uzlagjaną (“to lay down”), equivalent to a- + lay. Cognate with German erlegen (“to impose, cause to succumb, kill”), Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌻𐌰𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (uslagjan, “to lay down”). In Middle English the word was identical to forms of allege and alloy, leading to much overlapping of senses.

This word in other languages

aquietar(Español)apaiser(Français)beruhigen(Deutsch)aquietar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • alaly
  • alay
  • allayy
  • allya
  • lalay

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of allay - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

alaly2alay1allayy1allya2lalay2
Edit distance from "allay"

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 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "allay"?
"allay" is spelled A-L-L-A-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈleɪ/.
What does "allay" mean?
As a verb, "allay" means: To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm.
What words are commonly confused with "allay"?
"allay" is commonly confused with "away", "ally", "alma". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "allay"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "allay" is /əˈleɪ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "allay"?
From Middle English alayen, aleyen, aleggen, from Old English āleċġan (“to put, place, lay down, lay aside, throw down, give up, cease from, abandon; put down, allay, suppress, abolish, conquer, destroy, overcome, refute; lay upon, inflict, impose... See the full etymology section above for more details.
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 English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "allay", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

algal#41,991Arran#42,004adder#41,977Yonge#41,963

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

Ahab5 variantsSuga5 variantssola5 variantsdura5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list