latex
/ˈleɪtɛks/
"latex" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“latex” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,173. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #17,173
- frequency rank, English
- 2,297
- “L” headwords
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A clear liquid believed to be a component of a humour or other bodily fluid (esp. plasma and lymph).
Corpus desk
Index EN-latex · latex · English
latex · rank #17,173 · 7 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-MID #17,173
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 7 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,297
- PHOTO-FINISH Lars
Nearest frequency peer: Lars (-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.
Rank peers near misspelling magnet “latex”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- Kimberly
Kimberly
82,831 corpus weight
- lacrosse
lacrosse
82,830 corpus weight
- Lars
Lars
82,829 corpus weight
- latex
latex
82,828 corpus weight
- leftover
leftover
82,827 corpus weight
- legalization
legalization
82,826 corpus weight
What this shows “latex” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | latex |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈleɪtɛks/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #17,173 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “latex”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 7 spelling variants around latex (IPA /ˈleɪtɛks/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #17,173 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for latex, with forms such as "altex", "laetx", and "latexx". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "lax", "lex", "lite", 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 New Latin latex (“clear fluid which is part of a humour or bodily fluid”), a later use of Latin latex (“water; liquid, fluid”). Potentially a borrowing from Ancient Greek λᾰ́τᾰξ (lắtăx, “drop of wine”), reformed by analogy to other nouns in -e… The correct English form is latex, spelled L-A-T-E-X.
Definition
- 1A clear liquid believed to be a component of a humour or other bodily fluid (esp. plasma and lymph).
- 2The milky sap of several trees that coagulates on exposure to air; used to make rubber.
- 3An emulsion of rubber in water, used in adhesives and the like.
- 4Natural latex rubber, especially nonvulcanized rubber, such as is used in making latex gloves, latex condoms, and latex clothing.
Etymology
Borrowed from New Latin latex (“clear fluid which is part of a humour or bodily fluid”), a later use of Latin latex (“water; liquid, fluid”). Potentially a borrowing from Ancient Greek λᾰ́τᾰξ (lắtăx, “drop of wine”), reformed by analogy to other nouns in -ex. The semantic shift, however, from drop of wine to water is difficult to explain and may indicate that both words originated from a separate language. Perhaps from the same root as Proto-Celtic *latis (Old Irish laith (“liquid, beer”), Welsh llad (“beer”)) or Proto-Germanic *ladjō- (Old High German letto (“clay, loam”), Old Norse leðja (“mud, dregs”)) or from a Pre-Greek language.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- altex
- laetx
- latexx
- lattex
- latxe
- llatex
- ltaex
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of latex - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "latex", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).