lew
/ljuː/adjective, noun, verb
lew is spelled L-E-W: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,356th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Lew, the name). As an adjective, lew means “Lukewarm, tepid” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in lew?
| Letters | 3: L-E-W |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.9 times per million words; the 20,356th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is lew?
Lew appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,356th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Lew, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lew?
- /ljuː/
- /luː/
Lew has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-lew.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with lew
Sounds like: lieu, lue (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: lue.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with lew?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as lew.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: wel.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of lew
- lews plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- lewis plural
- leois plural
- lewe
- lewer comparative
- lewest superlative
- lue
- loo
- looe
- lee
- lewing participle, present
- lewed participle, past
- more lew comparative
- most lew superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lew mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
obsoleteSunny; warm.
- 2
Lukewarm, tepid.
- 3
Alee: protected from the wind.
Lee or Lew, Calm, under the wind. Suss.
- 4
Weak.
- 5
Sickly-looking, pale, wan.
Mi bodi wexit lewe.
noun
- 1
ScotlandWarmth, heat.
To th' end a fruitfull lew May euerie Climate in his time renew.
- 2
A shelter from the wind, particularly temporary structures raised by shepherds to protect their flocks.
Lew, shelter; defence from storms or wind.
- 3
ScotlandobsoleteA French gold coin circulated in 15th-century Scotland.
...þe Ingliss noble, henry, ande Eduarde wᵗ þe ross, þe franche crowne, þe salute þe lewe and þe Ridar sall haif courss in þis realme...
verb
- 1
To make warm or lukewarm.
- 2
obsoleteTo become warm.
- 3
To shelter from the wind.
Lew... Those trees will lew the house when they're up-grown.
- 4
Alternative form of lue: to sift, particularly while mining tin or silver.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does lew come from?
From Middle English lew, lewe, from Old English *hlēowe, *hlīewe (attested adverbially in hlēowe (“warmly”) and as ġehlēowe, ġehlīewe (“warm, sunny, sheltered”), unhlēowe (“not warm, chill”)), from Proto-West Germanic *hliwi, from Proto-Germanic *hliwjaz, *hlēwaz (“warm, lukewarm”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱal(w)e-, *ḱlēw- (“warm, hot”). Cognate with Old Norse hlýr (“warm, mild”), ( > Danish ly (“lukewarm”)), hlær, German lau, which are themselves akin to Old Norse hlé (“lee”), Danish læ (“shelter”). Compare lee.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).