lar

/lɑː/

//lɑː// noun

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

"lar" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“lar” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #40,323) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#40,323
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - singular of lares: a household god, particularly overseeing the family itself.

Corpus desk

Index EN-lar · lar · English

lar · rank #40,323 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #40,323
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH lanky

Nearest frequency peer: lanky (-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 neighbours of confusable “lar”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “lar” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

lar vs le
33% similar
lar vs li
33% similar
lar vs Lt
0% similar

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

Key facts for lar
PropertyValue
Headwordlar
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/lɑː/
Letters3
Frequency rank#40,323
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “lar”

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).larlands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “lanky” (#40,322), “Lawrie” (#40,324), “Laguardia” (#40,320). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “lar” is #40,323. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for lar is neighbouring look-alikes ("le", "li", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /lɑː/. Frequency #40,323 among 2,297 “L” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for lar, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "le", "li", "Lt", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin lār (“ancestral deity or spirit”) from Etruscan. The correct English form is lar, spelled L-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    singular of lares: a household god, particularly overseeing the family itself.
  2. 2
    A lar gibbon (Hylobates lar).

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Would the great emperor’s lar, free of its soldierly body rheumatic from German mists and browned and grizzled by the Indus sun, haunt that pinedark road to Elefsis to taste again the essences on which it fed and gather with voluptuous fingers the ghosts of roses?

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin lār (“ancestral deity or spirit”) from Etruscan.

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 "lar"?
"lar" is spelled L-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is /lɑː/.
What does "lar" mean?
As a noun, "lar" means: singular of lares: a household god, particularly overseeing the family itself.
What words are commonly confused with "lar"?
"lar" is commonly confused with "le", "li", "Lt". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lar"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lar" is /lɑː/. 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 "lar"?
Borrowed from Latin lār (“ancestral deity or spirit”) from Etruscan. 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 "lar", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Jie#40,308MRT#40,351muh#40,352NWS#40,363

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list