legation

noun

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

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

The verdict

“legation” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #47,154. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#47,154
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The purpose for which a legate is sent; a legate's mission or commission. Now rare (cf. OED)

Corpus desk

Index EN-legation · legation · English

legation · rank #47,154 · 12 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #47,154
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH Leh

Nearest frequency peer: Leh (+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 “legation”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “legation” 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).

legation vs legion
75% similar
legation vs location
75% similar

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

Key facts for legation
PropertyValue
Headwordlegation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters8
Frequency rank#47,154
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “legation”

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).legationlands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Leh” (#47,155), “laud” (#47,152), “letterhead” (#47,156). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “legation” is #47,154. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around legation, anoun. Corpus frequency is #47,154 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for legation, with forms such as "elgation", "leagtion", and "legaiton". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "legion", "location", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin lēgātiō. The correct English form is legation, spelled L-E-G-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The purpose for which a legate is sent; a legate's mission or commission. Now rare (cf. OED)
  2. 2
    The post or office of a legate; a legateship.
  3. 3
    A diplomatic mission.
  4. 4
    The official residence of a diplomat.

Etymology

From Latin lēgātiō.

This word in other languages

légation(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • elgation
  • leagtion
  • legaiton
  • legasion
  • legatino
  • legationn
  • legatoin
  • legattion
  • leggation
  • legtaion
  • lgeation
  • llegation

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of legation - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

elgation2leagtion2legaiton2legasion1legatino2legationn1legatoin2legattion1
Edit distance from "legation"

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 "legation"?
"legation" is spelled L-E-G-A-T-I-O-N.
What does "legation" mean?
As a noun, "legation" means: The purpose for which a legate is sent; a legate's mission or commission. Now rare (cf. OED)
What words are commonly confused with "legation"?
"legation" is commonly confused with "legion", "location". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "legation"?
From Latin lēgātiō. 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 "legation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Lombardy#47,165Moorhead#47,207Hezekiah#47,098headbutt#47,090

Similar misspelling depth

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

impetuous12 variantsmillimetre12 variantsolympiad12 variantspaneling12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list