laity

/ˈleɪ.ə.ti/

//ˈleɪ.ə.ti// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"laity" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“laity” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #38,936. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#38,936
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - People of a church who are not ordained clergy or clerics.

Corpus desk

Index EN-laity · laity · English

laity · rank #38,936 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #38,936
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH landlocked

Nearest frequency peer: landlocked (+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 “laity”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “laity” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

laity vs lay
60% similar
laity vs lit
60% similar
laity vs LAT
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for laity
PropertyValue
Headwordlaity
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈleɪ.ə.ti/
Letters5
Frequency rank#38,936
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “laity”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).laitylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “landlocked” (#38,937), “Kravitz” (#38,934), “latterly” (#38,938). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “laity” is #38,936. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around laity (IPA /ˈleɪ.ə.ti/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #38,936 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for laity, with forms such as "ality", "laitty", and "laityy". 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, "lay", "lit", "LAT", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Anglo-Norman laite, from Latin laitas, from Ancient Greek λαός (laós, “people”). The correct English form is laity, spelled L-A-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    People of a church who are not ordained clergy or clerics.
  2. 2
    The common man or woman.
  3. 3
    The unlearned, untrained or ignorant.

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman laite, from Latin laitas, from Ancient Greek λαός (laós, “people”).

Synonyms

congregationflockfoldlaity

Antonyms

clergy

This word in other languages

laico(Español)laïcat(Français)Laie(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ality
  • laitty
  • laityy
  • laiyt
  • latiy
  • liaty
  • llaity

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of laity - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ality2laitty1laityy1laiyt2latiy2liaty2llaity1
Edit distance from "laity"

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

How do you spell "laity"?
"laity" is spelled L-A-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈleɪ.ə.ti/.
What does "laity" mean?
As a noun, "laity" means: People of a church who are not ordained clergy or clerics.
What words are commonly confused with "laity"?
"laity" is commonly confused with "lay", "lit", "LAT". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "laity"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "laity" is /ˈleɪ.ə.ti/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "laity"?
From Anglo-Norman laite, from Latin laitas, from Ancient Greek λαός (laós, “people”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "laity", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Kraus#38,933Leyte#38,942Janie#38,921Jaffe#38,920

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

jaden7 variantsislet7 variantsmidge7 variantsIberia7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list