lass

/læs/

//læs// noun

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

"lass" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“lass” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #26,145) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#26,145
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
3
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A girl; also (by extension), a young woman.

Corpus desk

Index EN-lass · lass · English

lass · rank #26,145 · 3 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #26,145
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 3 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH Leila

Nearest frequency peer: Leila (+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 “lass”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “lass” 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).

lass vs Ls
25% similar
lass vs law
50% similar
lass vs los
50% similar

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

Key facts for lass
PropertyValue
Headwordlass
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/læs/
Letters4
Frequency rank#26,145
Misspellings tracked3
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “lass”

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Leila” (#26,146), “lakhs” (#26,143), “lesion” (#26,147). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “lass” is #26,145. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for lass is neighbouring look-alikes ("Ls", "law", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /læs/. Frequency #26,145 among 2,297 “L” headwords. 5 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 3 likely wrong-spelling variants for lass, with forms such as "alss", "llass", and "lsas". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Ls", "law", "los", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English las, lasce, lasse (“female infant or child; young woman”), traditionally derived from Old Norse lǫskr (“unmarried”, adjective); see Middle English las for more. Cognates Scots lass, lassie The correct English form is lass, spelled L-A-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A girl; also (by extension), a young woman.
  2. 2
    A girl; also (by extension), a young woman.
  3. 3
    A sweetheart.
  4. 4
    A female servant; a maid, a maidservant.
  5. 5
    A term of address for a woman, or a female animal.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Come and dance, ye lads and lasses!
  2. [T]heyr founders soules / Haue lost theyr beade rolles, / The mony for theyr masses / Spent amonge wanton lasses; […]

Etymology

From Middle English las, lasce, lasse (“female infant or child; young woman”), traditionally derived from Old Norse lǫskr (“unmarried”, adjective); see Middle English las for more. Cognates Scots lass, lassie

This word in other languages

niña(Español)fillette(Français)Jungfrau(Deutsch)menina(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • alss
  • llass
  • lsas

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lass - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

alss2llass1lsas2
Edit distance from "lass"

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 "lass"?
"lass" is spelled L-A-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /læs/.
What does "lass" mean?
As a noun, "lass" means: A girl; also (by extension), a young woman.
What words are commonly confused with "lass"?
"lass" is commonly confused with "Ls", "law", "los". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lass"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lass" is /læs/. 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 "lass"?
From Middle English las, lasce, lasse (“female infant or child; young woman”), traditionally derived from Old Norse lǫskr (“unmarried”, adjective); see Middle English las for more. Cognates Scots lass, lassie 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 "lass", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Kyiv#26,141lull#26,150kiki#26,138Kaye#26,136

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list