lackey
/ˈlæ.ki/
"lackey" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“lackey” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #34,153. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #34,153
- frequency rank, English
- 2,297
- “L” headwords
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A footman, a liveried male servant.
Corpus desk
Index EN-lackey · lackey · English
lackey · rank #34,153 · 9 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-MID #34,153
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 9 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,297
- PHOTO-FINISH knotted
Nearest frequency peer: knotted (-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 “lackey”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- kmt
kmt
65,850 corpus weight
- knotted
knotted
65,849 corpus weight
- lackey
lackey
65,848 corpus weight
- lain
lain
65,847 corpus weight
- laminate
laminate
65,846 corpus weight
- leeches
leeches
65,844 corpus weight
What this shows “lackey” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | lackey |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈlæ.ki/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #34,153 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “lackey”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 9 spelling variants around lackey (IPA /ˈlæ.ki/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #34,153 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for lackey, with forms such as "alckey", "lacckey", and "laceky". 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, "lake", "lacy", "lucky", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French laquais, which is probably (via Old Occitan lacai?) from Spanish lacayo, itself perhaps from Italian lacchè and Greek λακές (lakés), from Turkish ulak. Another possibility is through French, from Catalan alacay, from Arabic الْقَ… The correct English form is lackey, spelled L-A-C-K-E-Y.
Definition
- 1A footman, a liveried male servant.
- 2A fawning, servile follower.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how lackey appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
My dearest father,—I say nothing of them,—but I dare to speak of myself,—I can never be a monk,—if that is your object—spurn me,—order your lacqueys to drag me from this carriage,—leave me a beggar in the streets to cry “fire and water,”—but do not make me a monk.
St. Martin [of Tours] looks round, first, deliberately;—becomes aware of a tatterdemalion and thirsty-looking soul of a beggar at his chair side, who has managed to get his cup filled somehow, also—by a charitable lacquey. St. Martin turns his back on the Empress, and hobnobs with him!
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French laquais, which is probably (via Old Occitan lacai?) from Spanish lacayo, itself perhaps from Italian lacchè and Greek λακές (lakés), from Turkish ulak. Another possibility is through French, from Catalan alacay, from Arabic الْقَائِد (al-qāʔid). See French laquais.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- alckey
- lacckey
- laceky
- lackeyy
- lackkey
- lackye
- lakcey
- lcakey
- llackey
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lackey - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "lackey", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).