lavender

/ˈlæv.ən.də/

//ˈlæv.ən.də// noun

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

"lavender" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“lavender” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #16,270. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#16,270
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of a group of European plants, genus, Lavandula, of the mint family.

Corpus desk

Index EN-lavender · lavender · English

lavender · rank #16,270 · 12 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #16,270
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH Laurence

Nearest frequency peer: Laurence (-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 “lavender”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “lavender” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

lavender vs lender
75% similar
lavender vs lander
75% similar
lavender vs launder
75% similar

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

Key facts for lavender
PropertyValue
Headwordlavender
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈlæv.ən.də/
Letters8
Frequency rank#16,270
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “lavender”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).lavenderlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Laurence” (#16,269), “lemonade” (#16,271), “Latvia” (#16,268). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “lavender” is #16,270. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around lavender (IPA /ˈlæv.ən.də/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #16,270 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for lavender, with forms such as "alvender", "laevnder", and "lavedner". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "lender", "lander", "launder", 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 lavendre, from Anglo-Norman lavendre (French lavande), from Medieval Latin lavendula, possibly from Latin lividus (“bluish”), but influenced by lavō (“to wash”) due to the use of lavender in washing clothes. The correct English form is lavender, spelled L-A-V-E-N-D-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of a group of European plants, genus, Lavandula, of the mint family.
  2. 2
    A pale bluish purple colour, like that of the lavender flower.
  3. 3
    A kind of film stock used for creating positive prints from negatives as part of the process of duplicating the negatives.

Etymology

From Middle English lavendre, from Anglo-Norman lavendre (French lavande), from Medieval Latin lavendula, possibly from Latin lividus (“bluish”), but influenced by lavō (“to wash”) due to the use of lavender in washing clothes.

This word in other languages

lavanda(Español)lavande(Français)Lavendel(Deutsch)alfazema(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • alvender
  • laevnder
  • lavedner
  • lavendder
  • lavenderr
  • lavendre
  • lavenedr
  • lavennder
  • lavneder
  • lavvender
  • llavender
  • lvaender

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lavender - 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.

alvender2laevnder2lavedner2lavendder1lavenderr1lavendre2lavenedr2lavennder1
Edit distance from "lavender"

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 "lavender"?
"lavender" is spelled L-A-V-E-N-D-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈlæv.ən.də/.
What does "lavender" mean?
As a noun, "lavender" means: Any of a group of European plants, genus, Lavandula, of the mint family.
What words are commonly confused with "lavender"?
"lavender" is commonly confused with "lender", "lander", "launder". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lavender"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lavender" is /ˈlæv.ən.də/. 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 "lavender"?
From Middle English lavendre, from Anglo-Norman lavendre (French lavande), from Medieval Latin lavendula, possibly from Latin lividus (“bluish”), but influenced by lavō (“to wash”) due to the use of lavender in washing clothes. 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 "lavender", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Laurence#16,269lemonade#16,271mythical#16,280postcard#16,305

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

medically12 variantsNicaragua12 variantsflavored12 variantsfederally12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list