larrikin
/ˈlæɹɪk(ɪ)n/
Detailed reference entry for the English word "larrikin", 8-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Wiktionary, and usage frequency ranked against an open word-frequency list covering the top 100,000 English words. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "larrikin" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "larrikin" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.
The verdict
“larrikin” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A young, brash, and impertinent, and possibly violent, troublemaker, especially one who is a gang member; a hooligan.
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See how larrikin compares against similar English words.
Browse all word comparisons →| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | larrikin |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈlæɹɪk(ɪ)n/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “larrikin” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for larrikin is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈlæɹɪk(ɪ)n/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No misspelling variants are generated for larrikin in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: Origin uncertain, possibly from *larick (Northern England) (an unattested variant of lark (“bird of the family Alaudidae; frolic or romp, some fun; prank; (East Suffolk, obsolete) unruly or wild person”, noun), from laverock (“(chiefly Northern England, Sco… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is larrikin, spelled L-A-R-R-I-K-I-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1A young, brash, and impertinent, and possibly violent, troublemaker, especially one who is a gang member; a hooligan.
- 2A high-spirited person who playfully rebels against authority and conventional norms; a maverick or scamp.
Etymology
Origin uncertain, possibly from *larick (Northern England) (an unattested variant of lark (“bird of the family Alaudidae; frolic or romp, some fun; prank; (East Suffolk, obsolete) unruly or wild person”, noun), from laverock (“(chiefly Northern England, Scotland, archaic) lark (bird)”); compare the variant forms lairock, larrock (chiefly Northern England), larick, larrick (chiefly Scotland)) + -kin (diminutive suffix). However, the Oxford English Dictionary notes that it is not clear why a word attested in the West Midlands (particularly Warwickshire and Worcestershire) and in Southwest England (Cornwall) would be derived from a word from Northern England. Other suggestions include the following: * The word is an Irish policeman’s pronunciation of larking (“engaging in careless adventure, frolicking; engaging in harmless pranking, sporting”), heard by a reporter in a Melbourne police court around 1870. The Oxford English Dictionary states there is no evidence of such an incident having been reported in the local newspapers of the time, and that in any case the word is attested earlier in Cornwall, England (since the early 19th century), and in Australia (at least from 1867: see the quotation). * The first element of the word is from the name of an unknown Irishman named Larry. The adjective is from an attributive use of the noun.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
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Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY-SA). Copy the citation:
PlainSpell, “larrikin, English word data” (May 6, 2026). Derived from Wiktionary (kaikki.org, CC BY-SA) and an open word-frequency list. https://plainspell.com/en/word/larrikin
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Using “larrikin”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-A-R-R-I-K-I-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈlæɹɪk(ɪ)n/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Nearby English words
Other entries that begin with the letter L in our English index: