lamentation

/ˌlæm.ənˈteɪ.ʃən/

//ˌlæm.ənˈteɪ.ʃən// noun

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

"lamentation" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“lamentation” is uncommon English (frequency #60,227 among 2,297 “L” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#60,227
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of lamenting.

Corpus desk

Index EN-lamentation · lamentation · English

lamentation · rank #60,227 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #60,227
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH Laotian

Nearest frequency peer: Laotian (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “lamentation”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “lamentation” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for lamentation
PropertyValue
Headwordlamentation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌlæm.ənˈteɪ.ʃən/
Letters11
Frequency rank#60,227
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “lamentation” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).lamentationfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Laotian” (#60,228), “laconic” (#60,225), “lateness” (#60,229). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “lamentation” is #60,227. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

lamentation is uncommon English at frequency #60,227 among 2,297 “L” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌlæm.ənˈteɪ.ʃən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for lamentation in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Recorded since 1375, from Middle English lamentacioun, from Middle French lamentation and its etymon Latin lāmentātiō (“wailing, moaning, weeping”), from the deponent verb lāmentor, from lāmentum (“wail; wailing”), itself from a Proto-Indo-European *leh₂- (… The correct English form is lamentation, spelled L-A-M-E-N-T-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of lamenting.
  2. 2
    A sorrowful cry; a lament.
  3. 3
    Specifically, mourning.
  4. 4
    lamentatio, (part of) a liturgical Bible text (from the book of Job) and its musical settings, usually in the plural; hence, any dirge
  5. 5
    A group of swans.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how lamentation appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. About John Marin, there move sad, disgruntled beings, full of talk and lamentations. [...] They bewail the fact that in America, soil is poor and unconducive to growth, and men remain unmoved by growing green. But Marin persists, and what ebullience and good humour, in the rocky ungentle loam?

Etymology

Recorded since 1375, from Middle English lamentacioun, from Middle French lamentation and its etymon Latin lāmentātiō (“wailing, moaning, weeping”), from the deponent verb lāmentor, from lāmentum (“wail; wailing”), itself from a Proto-Indo-European *leh₂- (“to howl”), presumed ultimately imitative. Replaced Old English cwiþan. By surface analysis, lament + -ation.

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 "lamentation"?
"lamentation" is spelled L-A-M-E-N-T-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌlæm.ənˈteɪ.ʃən/.
What does "lamentation" mean?
As a noun, "lamentation" means: The act of lamenting.
How do you pronounce "lamentation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lamentation" is /ˌlæm.ənˈteɪ.ʃən/. 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 "lamentation"?
Recorded since 1375, from Middle English lamentacioun, from Middle French lamentation and its etymon Latin lāmentātiō (“wailing, moaning, weeping”), from the deponent verb lāmentor, from lāmentum (“wail; wailing”), itself from a Proto-Indo-Europea... 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 "lamentation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Kaliningrad#60,207ingeniously#60,182industrials#60,180hydrocodone#60,167

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list