leg

/lɛɡ/

//lɛɡ// noun

"leg" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“leg” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #2,215) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#2,215
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A limb or appendage that an animal uses for support or locomotion on land.

Corpus desk

Index EN-leg · leg · English

leg · rank #2,215 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,215
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH laugh

Nearest frequency peer: laugh (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “leg”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “leg” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

leg vs li
33% similar
leg vs Lt
0% similar
leg vs lo
33% similar

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

Key facts for leg
PropertyValue
Headwordleg
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/lɛɡ/
Letters3
Frequency rank#2,215
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “leg” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). leg lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for leg is neighbouring look-alikes ("li", "Lt", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /lɛɡ/. Frequency #2,215 among 2,297 “L” headwords. 27 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Zero misspellings are on record for leg in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "li", "Lt", "lo", and more, 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 leg, legge, from Old Norse leggr (“leg, calf, bone of the arm or leg, hollow tube, stalk”), from Proto-Germanic *lagjaz, *lagwijaz (“leg, thigh”) (see it for more). Cognate with Scots leg (“leg”), Icelandic leggur (“leg, limb”), Norwegia… The correct English form is leg, spelled L-E-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    A limb or appendage that an animal uses for support or locomotion on land.
  2. 2
    In humans, the lower limb extending from the groin to the ankle.
  3. 3
    The portion of the lower limb of a human that extends from the knee to the ankle.
  4. 4
    A part of garment, such as a pair of trousers/pants, that covers a leg.
  5. 5
    A rod-like protrusion from an inanimate object, such as a piece of furniture, supporting it from underneath.
  6. 6
    Something that supports.
  7. 7
    A stage of a journey, race etc.
  8. 8
    A distance that a sailing vessel does without changing the sails from one side to the other.
  9. 9
    One side of a multiple-sided (often triangular) course in a sailing race.
  10. 10
    A single game or match played in a tournament or other sporting contest.
  11. 11
    One of the two sides of a right triangle that is not the hypotenuse.
  12. 12
    One of the two equal sides of an isosceles triangle.
  13. 13
    One of the branches of a hyperbola or other curve which extend outward indefinitely.
  14. 14
    The ability of something to persist or succeed over a long period of time.
  15. 15
    A disreputable sporting character; a blackleg.
  16. 16
    An extension of a steam boiler downward, in the form of a narrow space between vertical plates, sometimes nearly surrounding the furnace and ash pit, and serving to support the boiler; called also water leg.
  17. 17
    In a grain elevator, the case containing the lower part of the belt which carries the buckets.
  18. 18
    Denotes the half of the field on the same side as the batsman's legs; the left side for a right-handed batsman.
  19. 19
    A branch or lateral circuit connecting an instrument with the main line.
  20. 20
    A branch circuit; one phase of a polyphase system.
  21. 21
    An underlying instrument of a derivatives strategy.
  22. 22
    An army soldier assigned to a paratrooper unit who has not yet been qualified as a paratrooper.
  23. 23
    A gesture of submission; a bow or curtsey. Chiefly in phrase make a leg.
  24. 24
    A column, as a unit of length of text as laid out.
  25. 25
    Synonym of leg up (“forming a step for a person's feet with one's hands”).
  26. 26
    An individual bet in a parlay (a series of bets where the stake and winnings are cumulatively carried forward).
  27. 27
    Synonym of blackleg (“a gambling cheat”).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how leg appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Insects have six legs.
  2. Dan won't be able to come to the party, since he broke his leg last week and is now on crutches.

Etymology

From Middle English leg, legge, from Old Norse leggr (“leg, calf, bone of the arm or leg, hollow tube, stalk”), from Proto-Germanic *lagjaz, *lagwijaz (“leg, thigh”) (see it for more). Cognate with Scots leg (“leg”), Icelandic leggur (“leg, limb”), Norwegian Bokmål legg (“leg”), Norwegian Nynorsk legg (“leg”), Swedish lägg (“leg, shank, shaft”), Danish læg (“leg”), Lombardic lagi (“thigh, shank, leg”), Latin lacertus (“limb, arm”), Persian لنگ (leng). Upon borrowing, mostly displaced the native Old English term sċanca (Modern English shank).

Synonyms

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "leg"?
"leg" is spelled L-E-G. The IPA pronunciation is /lɛɡ/.
What does "leg" mean?
As a noun, "leg" means: A limb or appendage that an animal uses for support or locomotion on land.
What words are commonly confused with "leg"?
"leg" is commonly confused with "li", "Lt", "lo". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "leg"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "leg" is /lɛɡ/. 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 "leg"?
From Middle English leg, legge, from Old Norse leggr (“leg, calf, bone of the arm or leg, hollow tube, stalk”), from Proto-Germanic *lagjaz, *lagwijaz (“leg, thigh”) (see it for more). Cognate with Scots leg (“leg”), Icelandic leggur (“leg, limb”)... 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 "leg", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

What to do next

You've looked up "leg". Here's where to go from here.

  • "leg" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "li". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #2,215 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "L" letter cohort. L–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list