# flax

> English word · Noun · IPA /flæks/ · frequency rank #27,151

## Definitions
1. A plant of the genus Linum, especially Linum usitatissimum, which has a single, slender stalk, about a foot and a half high, with blue flowers. Also known as linseed, especially when referring to the seeds.
2. The fibers of Linum usitatissimum, grown to make linen and related textiles.
3. A flax bush, a plant of the genus Phormium, native to New Zealand, with strap-like leaves up to 3 metres long that grow in clumps.

## Etymology
From Middle English flax, from Old English fleax, from Proto-Germanic *flahsą, from Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- (“to plait”). Cognate with Old Frisian flax, Dutch vlas, Old High German flahs (German Flachs); the Northern Germanic (and most likely the Gothic too) stem is different.

## Easily confused with
- **fly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flax-vs-fly)
- **fox** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flax-vs-fox)
- **flu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flax-vs-flu)
- **Flo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flax-vs-flo)
- **FSA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flax-vs-fsa)
- **fra** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flax-vs-fra)
- **FTA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flax-vs-fta)
- **flow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flax-vs-flow)
- **flip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flax-vs-flip)
- **flew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flax-vs-flew)
- **fled** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flax-vs-fled)
- **flee** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flax-vs-flee)
- **foam** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flax-vs-foam)
- **flex** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flax-vs-flex)
- **flux** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flax-vs-flux)
- **flop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flax-vs-flop)
- **Fran** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flax-vs-fran)
- **flea** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flax-vs-flea)
- **fray** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flax-vs-fray)
- **frat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flax-vs-frat)

## Common misspellings (6)
`falx`, `fflax`, `flaxx`, `fllax`, `flxa`, `lfax`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/flax