lapwing
/ˈlæpwɪŋ/noun
lapwing is spelled L-A-P-W-I-N-G: 7 letters. It appears about once in every 11 million words in written English, the 101,613th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, lapwing means “Any of several medium-sized wading birds belonging to the subfamily Vanellinae, within family Charadriidae” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of lapwing is lapwings.
How many letters and syllables are in lapwing?
| Letters | 7: L-A-P-W-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 11 million words; the 101,613th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is lapwing?
Lapwing appears about once in every 11 million words in written English, the 101,613th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lapwing?
- /ˈlæpwɪŋ/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-lapwing.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of lapwing
- lapwings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lapwing mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of several medium-sized wading birds belonging to the subfamily Vanellinae, within family Charadriidae.
- 2
The northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus).
- 3
obsoleteA silly man.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lapwing in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense bird belonging to the subfamily Vanellinae:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does lapwing come from?
From Middle English lapwynge, lapwynke, lappewincke, lapwynche, lhapwynche, from Old English hlēapewince (“lapwing”), from Old English hlēapan (“to leap”) + wincian (“to wink, make a sign”), due to its manner of flight. Cognate with West Frisian ljip (“lapwing”). The modern form is influenced by folk etymology to resemble English wing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).