latex
la·tex/ˈleɪˌtɛks/noun
latex is spelled L-A-T-E-X: 5 letters and 2 syllables (la·tex). It appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, latex means “The milky sap of several trees that coagulates on exposure to air; used to make rubber” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of latex is latices or latexes.
How many letters and syllables are in latex?
| Letters | 5: L-A-T-E-X |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: la·tex |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words; the 17,122nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is latex?
Latex appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd 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 latex?
- UK /ˈleɪtɛks/
- US /ˈleɪˌtɛks/
Latex has 2 syllables, split la·tex in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-latex.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with latex?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as latex (/eɪtɛks/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: exalt.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of latex
- latices plural
- latexes plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does latex mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
archaicrareA clear liquid believed to be a component of a humour or other bodily fluid (esp. plasma and lymph).
- 2
The milky sap of several trees that coagulates on exposure to air; used to make rubber.
- 3
An emulsion of rubber in water, used in adhesives and the like.
- 4
Natural latex rubber, especially nonvulcanized rubber, such as is used in making latex gloves, latex condoms, and latex clothing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Latex in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense milky sap:
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 latex come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).