libation

/laɪˈbeɪʃən/

//laɪˈbeɪʃən// noun

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

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

The verdict

“libation” is uncommon English (frequency #75,156 among 2,297 “L” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#75,156
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of pouring a liquid, most often wine, in sacrifice on the ground, on a ritual object, or on a victim, in honor of some deity.

Corpus desk

Index EN-libation · libation · English

libation · rank #75,156 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #75,156
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH Lerwick

Nearest frequency peer: Lerwick (-3 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 “libation”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “libation” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for libation
PropertyValue
Headwordlibation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/laɪˈbeɪʃən/
Letters8
Frequency rank#75,156
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “libation” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).libationfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Lerwick” (#75,153), “lippy” (#75,159), “llano” (#75,160). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “libation” is #75,156. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

libation is uncommon English at frequency #75,156 among 2,297 “L” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /laɪˈbeɪʃən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for libation in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin lībātiō, from lībāre (“to take a little from anything, to taste, to pour out as an offering”). The correct English form is libation, spelled L-I-B-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of pouring a liquid, most often wine, in sacrifice on the ground, on a ritual object, or on a victim, in honor of some deity.
  2. 2
    The wine or liquid thus poured out.
  3. 3
    A beverage, especially an alcoholic one.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how libation appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. While we to Jove the pure libations pay, Than Jove what apter claims the hallow'd lay?
  2. […] watching you, the waiters, not quite making eye-contact but scanning for any little way to be of service, plus plum-jacketed sommeliers walking around to see if you need a non-buffet libation…

Etymology

From Latin lībātiō, from lībāre (“to take a little from anything, to taste, to pour out as an offering”).

This word in other languages

libación(Español)libation(Français)Trankopfer(Deutsch)libação(Português)

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 "libation"?
"libation" is spelled L-I-B-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /laɪˈbeɪʃən/.
What does "libation" mean?
As a noun, "libation" means: The act of pouring a liquid, most often wine, in sacrifice on the ground, on a ritual object, or on a victim, in honor of some deity.
How do you pronounce "libation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "libation" is /laɪˈbeɪʃən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "libation"?
From Latin lībātiō, from lībāre (“to take a little from anything, to taste, to pour out as an offering”). 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 "libation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

legalism#75,150lecithin#75,147Loughton#75,166Langmuir#75,140

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list