lady-in-waiting
/ˌleɪdɪ ɪn ˈweɪtɪŋ/
"lady-in-waiting" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“lady-in-waiting” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 15
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A lady, often a noblewoman, in the household of a queen, princess, or other woman of higher rank who attends her as a personal assistant, generally a role considered an honour.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | lady-in-waiting |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌleɪdɪ ɪn ˈweɪtɪŋ/ |
| Letters | 15 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “lady-in-waiting” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
lady-in-waiting is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌleɪdɪ ɪn ˈweɪtɪŋ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A lady, often a noblewoman, in the household of a queen, princess, or other woman of higher rank who attends her as a personal assistant, generally a role considered an honour.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for lady-in-waiting, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From lady + in + waiting (“attendance, service”). (Waiting in the sense of a waiter, not passing time.) The correct English form is lady-in-waiting, spelled L-A-D-Y---I-N---W-A-I-T-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1A lady, often a noblewoman, in the household of a queen, princess, or other woman of higher rank who attends her as a personal assistant, generally a role considered an honour.
Etymology
From lady + in + waiting (“attendance, service”). (Waiting in the sense of a waiter, not passing time.)
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "lady-in-waiting"?
What does "lady-in-waiting" mean?
How do you pronounce "lady-in-waiting"?
What is the origin of the word "lady-in-waiting"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “lady-in-waiting”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-A-D-Y---I-N---W-A-I-T-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌleɪdɪ ɪn ˈweɪtɪŋ/ (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.