legerdemain
/ˌlɛd͡ʒ.ə.dɨˈmeɪn/
"legerdemain" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“legerdemain” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Sleight of hand; "magic" trickery.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | legerdemain |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌlɛd͡ʒ.ə.dɨˈmeɪn/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “legerdemain” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
legerdemain is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌlɛd͡ʒ.ə.dɨˈmeɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
legerdemain has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English legerdemeyn, lechardemane, from Old French léger de main (literally “light of hand”), a phrase that meant “dexterous, skillful at fooling others (especially through sleights of hand)”, which was however treated as a noun when it was borr… The correct English form is legerdemain, spelled L-E-G-E-R-D-E-M-A-I-N.
Definition
- 1Sleight of hand; "magic" trickery.
- 2A show of skill or deceitful ability.
Etymology
From Middle English legerdemeyn, lechardemane, from Old French léger de main (literally “light of hand”), a phrase that meant “dexterous, skillful at fooling others (especially through sleights of hand)”, which was however treated as a noun when it was borrowed by late Middle English. The Modern French descendant léger de main of the Old French phrase is archaic but still sometimes found in older literature and simply means “skillful” without any connotation of sleight of hand.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “legerdemain”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-E-G-E-R-D-E-M-A-I-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌlɛd͡ʒ.ə.dɨˈmeɪn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.