Lethe
/ˈliːθi/
"lethe" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Lethe” is uncommon English (frequency #91,738 among 2,297 “L” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #91,738
- frequency rank, English
- 2,297
- “L” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The personification of oblivion, daughter of Eris.
Corpus desk
Index EN-lethe · Lethe · English
Lethe · rank #91,738 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #91,738
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,297
- PHOTO-FINISH Levittown
Nearest frequency peer: Levittown (+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 “Lethe”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- Leeroy
Leeroy
8,268 corpus weight
- Lethe
Lethe
8,263 corpus weight
- Levittown
Levittown
8,261 corpus weight
- lickers
lickers
8,260 corpus weight
- Ligurian
Ligurian
8,259 corpus weight
- Likert
Likert
8,258 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “Lethe” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| 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) |
Long-tail rank of “Lethe” in English
Rare enough to double-check
Lethe is uncommon English at frequency #91,738 among 2,297 “L” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /ˈliːθi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
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.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how Lethe appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
No wonder these mortal Folks have so many Complaints, […] if they were dead now, and to be settled here for ever, they'd be damn'd before they'd make such a Rout come over—“But care, I suppose, is thirsty; and till they have drench’d themselves with Lethe, there will be no quiet among ’em” however, I’ll e’en to work; and so, friend Æsop, and brother Mercu…
My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains / My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk, / Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains / One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk:
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Lethe", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).