light-footed

adj

"light-footed" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“light-footed” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an adjective - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Fast on one's feet, not plodding; nimble, agile.

Key facts for light-footed
PropertyValue
Headwordlight-footed
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “light-footed” sits in English frequency

light-footed falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for light-footed is 12 letters long, classified as an adjective. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Fast on one's feet, not plodding; nimble, agile.".

light-footed doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English liȝtfoted, liht fotyd, alteration of earlier lyghtfote, liȝtt-fot (“light-footed”), equivalent to light + foot + -ed. The correct English form is light-footed, spelled L-I-G-H-T---F-O-O-T-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Fast on one's feet, not plodding; nimble, agile.

Etymology

From Middle English liȝtfoted, liht fotyd, alteration of earlier lyghtfote, liȝtt-fot (“light-footed”), equivalent to light + foot + -ed.

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

How do you spell "light-footed"?
"light-footed" is spelled L-I-G-H-T---F-O-O-T-E-D.
What does "light-footed" mean?
As an adjective, "light-footed" means: Fast on one's feet, not plodding; nimble, agile.
What is the origin of the word "light-footed"?
From Middle English liȝtfoted, liht fotyd, alteration of earlier lyghtfote, liȝtt-fot (“light-footed”), equivalent to light + foot + -ed. 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.

Using “light-footed”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is L-I-G-H-T---F-O-O-T-E-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list