labial
/ˈleɪ.bi.əl/
"labial" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“labial” is an uncommon English word, ranked #59,495 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #59,495
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of or pertaining to the lips or labia.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | labial |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈleɪ.bi.əl/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #59,495 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “labial” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for labial is 6 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈleɪ.bi.əl/. Corpus data places it at rank #59,495 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for labial, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowing from Medieval Latin labiālis (“of or pertaining to the lips”), from labium (“a lip”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix); equivalent to labium + -al. The correct English form is labial, spelled L-A-B-I-A-L.
Definition
- 1Of or pertaining to the lips or labia.
- 2Articulated by the lips, as the consonants b, m and w.
- 3On the side facing the lips. See mesial.
- 4Furnished with lips.
Etymology
Borrowing from Medieval Latin labiālis (“of or pertaining to the lips”), from labium (“a lip”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix); equivalent to labium + -al.
This word in other languages
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
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Using “labial”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-A-B-I-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈleɪ.bi.əl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.