Kilauea

name

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

"kilauea" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Kilauea” is uncommon English (frequency #62,256 among 9,255 “K” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#62,256
frequency rank, English
9,255
“K” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An active volcano in Hawaii Island, (Big Island, Island of Hawaii) Hawaiian Islands, Pacific, Hawaii, United States.

Key facts for Kilauea
PropertyValue
HeadwordKilauea
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
Letters7
Frequency rank#62,256
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Kilauea” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Kilauea is uncommon English at frequency #62,256 among 9,255 “K” headwords, classed as aproper noun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for Kilauea, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Hawaiian Kīlauea, from kī (intensifying prefix) + lau (“many, much”) + ea (“to rise, go up, expand”). The correct English form is Kilauea, spelled K-I-L-A-U-E-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    An active volcano in Hawaii Island, (Big Island, Island of Hawaii) Hawaiian Islands, Pacific, Hawaii, United States.
  2. 2
    A town near the eponymous volcano Hawaii, Hawaii, United States.

Etymology

From Hawaiian Kīlauea, from kī (intensifying prefix) + lau (“many, much”) + ea (“to rise, go up, expand”).

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 "Kilauea"?
"Kilauea" is spelled K-I-L-A-U-E-A.
What does "Kilauea" mean?
As a proper noun, "Kilauea" means: An active volcano in Hawaii Island, (Big Island, Island of Hawaii) Hawaiian Islands, Pacific, Hawaii, United States.
What is the origin of the word "Kilauea"?
From Hawaiian Kīlauea, from kī (intensifying prefix) + lau (“many, much”) + ea (“to rise, go up, expand”). 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.

Using “Kilauea”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is K-I-L-A-U-E-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list