lectin
/ˈlɛktɪn/
"lectin" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“lectin” is uncommon English (frequency #86,454 among 2,297 “L” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #86,454
- frequency rank, English
- 2,297
- “L” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of a class of proteins that bind specific carbohydrates.
Corpus desk
Index EN-lectin · lectin · English
lectin · rank #86,454 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #86,454
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,297
- PHOTO-FINISH Leanna
Nearest frequency peer: Leanna (-2 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.
Long-tail ranks near “lectin”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- lamellar
lamellar
13,553 corpus weight
- lamin
lamin
13,552 corpus weight
- landsman
landsman
13,551 corpus weight
- Leanna
Leanna
13,549 corpus weight
- lectin
lectin
13,547 corpus weight
- licentiate
licentiate
13,541 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “lectin” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | lectin |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈlɛktɪn/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #86,454 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “lectin” in English
Rare enough to double-check
lectin is uncommon English at frequency #86,454 among 2,297 “L” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈlɛktɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Any of a class of proteins that bind specific carbohydrates.".
lectin has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin lēctus (“chosen”) + -in. Coined by W.C. Boyd in 1954. The correct English form is lectin, spelled L-E-C-T-I-N.
Definition
- 1Any of a class of proteins that bind specific carbohydrates.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how lectin appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The result proved less about the safety of genetic engineering than it did about the safety of lectins – known animal poisons.
Soybeans are another excellent source of plant proteins but they are also on the list of high lectin foods. They are very important to vegans and vegetarians as they make it easy for them to get adequate proteins in their diet.
Etymology
From Latin lēctus (“chosen”) + -in. Coined by W.C. Boyd in 1954.
This word in other languages
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 "lectin"?
What does "lectin" mean?
How do you pronounce "lectin"?
What is the origin of the word "lectin"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "lectin", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).