daylight

/ˈdeɪlaɪt/

//ˈdeɪlaɪt// noun

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

"daylight" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“daylight” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,030. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,030
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The natural light that is ambient in daytime, being mostly sunlight (both direct and indirect, on either sunny days or cloudy days).

Corpus desk

Index EN-daylight · daylight · English

daylight · rank #9,030 · 13 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,030
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH creep

Nearest frequency peer: creep (-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 “daylight”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “daylight” 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).

daylight vs delight
75% similar

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

Key facts for daylight
PropertyValue
Headworddaylight
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈdeɪlaɪt/
Letters8
Frequency rank#9,030
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “daylight”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).daylightlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “creep” (#9,029), “Dee” (#9,031), “Crawford” (#9,028). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “daylight” is #9,030. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around daylight (IPA /ˈdeɪlaɪt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #9,030 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for daylight, with forms such as "adylight", "dalyight", and "dayilght". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "delight", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English daye-lighte, dey liȝht, dailiȝt, day-liht, dai-liht (also as days lyȝt, daies liht), equivalent to day + light. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Deegeslucht, Daisljoacht (“daylight”), West Frisian deiljocht (“daylight”), Dutch daglicht (“d… The correct English form is daylight, spelled D-A-Y-L-I-G-H-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    The natural light that is ambient in daytime, being mostly sunlight (both direct and indirect, on either sunny days or cloudy days).
  2. 2
    A light source that simulates daylight.
  3. 3
    The intensity distribution of light over the visible spectrum generated by the Sun under various conditions or by other light sources intended to simulate natural daylight.
  4. 4
    The period of time between sunrise and sunset.
  5. 5
    Daybreak.
  6. 6
    Exposure to public scrutiny.
  7. 7
    A clear, open space.
  8. 8
    The space between platens on a press or similar machinery.
  9. 9
    Emotional or psychological distance between people, or disagreement.
  10. 10
    Meaningful or noticeable difference or distinction between two things, especially concepts.
  11. 11
    The gap between the top of a drinking-glass and the level of drink it is filled with.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Meronym: sunbeams
  2. Near-synonyms: sunlight, sunshine

Etymology

From Middle English daye-lighte, dey liȝht, dailiȝt, day-liht, dai-liht (also as days lyȝt, daies liht), equivalent to day + light. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Deegeslucht, Daisljoacht (“daylight”), West Frisian deiljocht (“daylight”), Dutch daglicht (“daylight”), German Tageslicht (“daylight”).

Antonyms

nightdarkness

This word in other languages

día(Español)jour(Français)Tageslicht(Deutsch)dia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • adylight
  • dalyight
  • dayilght
  • daylgiht
  • dayligght
  • daylighht
  • daylightt
  • dayligth
  • daylihgt
  • dayllight
  • dayylight
  • ddaylight
  • dyalight

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of daylight - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

adylight2dalyight2dayilght2daylgiht2dayligght1daylighht1daylightt1dayligth2
Edit distance from "daylight"

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 "daylight"?
"daylight" is spelled D-A-Y-L-I-G-H-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdeɪlaɪt/.
What does "daylight" mean?
As a noun, "daylight" means: The natural light that is ambient in daytime, being mostly sunlight (both direct and indirect, on either sunny days or cloudy days).
What words are commonly confused with "daylight"?
"daylight" is commonly confused with "delight". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "daylight"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "daylight" is /ˈdeɪlaɪt/. 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 "daylight"?
From Middle English daye-lighte, dey liȝht, dailiȝt, day-liht, dai-liht (also as days lyȝt, daies liht), equivalent to day + light. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Deegeslucht, Daisljoacht (“daylight”), West Frisian deiljocht (“daylight”), Dutch da... 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 "daylight", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Crawford#9,028crashing#9,027disclose#9,034genetics#9,047

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

Malaysian13 variantssuperhero13 variantsnationally13 variantssecondly13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list