laird
/lɛːd/
"laird" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“laird” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,586. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #23,586
- frequency rank, English
- 16,425
- “L” headwords
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A feudal lord in Scottish contexts.
Corpus desk
Index EN-laird · laird · English
laird · rank #23,586 · 7 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-MID #23,586
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 7 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 16,425
- PHOTO-FINISH lager
Nearest frequency peer: lager (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “laird”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- KL
KL
76,418 corpus weight
- knitted
knitted
76,417 corpus weight
- lager
lager
76,416 corpus weight
- laird
laird
76,415 corpus weight
- letterman
letterman
76,414 corpus weight
- lighted
lighted
76,413 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “laird” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | laird |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /lɛːd/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #23,586 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “laird” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 7 spelling variants around laird (IPA /lɛːd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #23,586 among 16,425 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for laird, with forms such as "alird", "laidr", and "lairdd". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "lid", "lar", "land", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is borrowed from Scots laird, from northern or Scottish Middle English lard, laverd, a variant of lord. The verb is derived from the noun. Doublet of hlaford and lord. The correct English form is laird, spelled L-A-I-R-D.
Definition
- 1A feudal lord in Scottish contexts.
- 2An aristocrat, particularly in Scottish contexts and in reference to the chiefs of the Scottish clans.
- 3A landowner, particularly in Scottish contexts.
Etymology
The noun is borrowed from Scots laird, from northern or Scottish Middle English lard, laverd, a variant of lord. The verb is derived from the noun. Doublet of hlaford and lord.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- alird
- laidr
- lairdd
- lairrd
- larid
- liard
- llaird
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of laird - 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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "laird", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).
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.