Lethe
/ˈliːθi/
"lethe" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Lethe” is an uncommon English word, ranked #91,738 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #91,738
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The personification of oblivion, daughter of Eris.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Lethe |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈliːθi/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #91,738 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Lethe” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Lethe is 5 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈliːθi/. Corpus data places it at rank #91,738 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Lethe doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable 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 Lēthē, from Ancient Greek Λήθη (Lḗthē). The correct English form is Lethe, spelled L-E-T-H-E.
Definition
- 1The personification of oblivion, daughter of Eris.
- 2The river which flows through Hades from which the souls of the dead drank so that they would forget their time on Earth.
Etymology
From Latin Lēthē, from Ancient Greek Λήθη (Lḗthē).
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
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Using “Lethe”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-E-T-H-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈliːθi/ (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.