lily of the valley
"lily-of-the-valley" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“lily of the valley” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 18
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A flowering plant, Convallaria majalis, with richly fragrant pendant bells.
Corpus desk
Index EN-lily-of-the-valley · lily of the valley · English
lily of the valley · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 18 letters
- VOW-7 7 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "L" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | lily of the valley |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 18 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “lily of the valley” in English
Rare enough to double-check
lily of the valley is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for lily of the valley in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Calque of Biblical Hebrew שׁוֹשַׁנַּת הָעֲמָקִים (šôšannat hāʿămāqîm), a reference to Song of Solomon 2:1. The correct English form is lily of the valley, spelled L-I-L-Y- -O-F- -T-H-E- -V-A-L-L-E-Y.
Definition
- 1A flowering plant, Convallaria majalis, with richly fragrant pendant bells.
- 2A flower of this plant.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how lily of the valley appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Oh, what a perfect thought. Lilies-of-the-valley, and white pansies, double white violets and white velvet ribbon… From an unknown friend. … From one who understands. … For a Little Girl.
The aroma given off by flowers has an aphrodisiac effect, especially on women. This is so particularly in the case of lilies of the valley, gardenia, frangipani, and henna.
Etymology
Calque of Biblical Hebrew שׁוֹשַׁנַּת הָעֲמָקִים (šôšannat hāʿămāqîm), a reference to Song of Solomon 2:1.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.