laic
/ˈleɪ.ɪk/
"laic" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“laic” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 4
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A layperson as opposed to a cleric, i.e. not a member of the clergy.
Corpus desk
Index EN-laic · laic · English
laic · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "L" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | laic |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈleɪ.ɪk/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “laic” in English
Rare enough to double-check
laic is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈleɪ.ɪk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A layperson as opposed to a cleric, i.e. not a member of the clergy.".
laic has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French laïque, from Latin lāicus (“common people”), from Ancient Greek λαός (laós). Doublet of lay. The correct English form is laic, spelled L-A-I-C.
Definition
- 1A layperson as opposed to a cleric, i.e. not a member of the clergy.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how laic appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Laic and laicist derive from the same root. Why did their meanings diverge? What meaning do they share? Both apply to people who believe that the well-being of societies requires that religious doctrines and churches do not interfere with the functioning of the state. To the laic, this end is reached when the state refrains from taking side with one confe…
Etymology
From French laïque, from Latin lāicus (“common people”), from Ancient Greek λαός (laós). Doublet of lay.
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.