latex
/ˈleɪtɛks/
"latex" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“latex” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #17,173 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #17,173
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A clear liquid believed to be a component of a humour or other bodily fluid (esp. plasma and lymph).
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) |
Where “latex” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for latex is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈleɪtɛks/. Corpus data places it at rank #17,173 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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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Using “latex”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-A-T-E-X - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈleɪtɛks/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “lax” - see the side-by-side comparison. latex vs lax
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.