# linen

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈlɪnɪn/ · frequency rank #12,805

## Definitions
1. Thread or cloth made from flax fiber.
2. Domestic textiles, such as tablecloths, bedding, towels, underclothes, etc., that are made of linen or linen-like fabrics of cotton or other fibers; linens.
3. A light beige colour, like that of linen cloth undyed.

## Etymology
From Middle English lynnen, lynen, from Old English līnen (“linen", "made of flax”), from Proto-West Germanic *līnīn (“made of flax”), from Proto-Germanic *līną (“flax”), from Proto-Indo-European *līno- (“flax”), equivalent to line + -en. Cognate with Latin līnum (“flax”) and thus also Linum. More at line.

## Easily confused with
- **live** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/linen-vs-live)
- **link** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/linen-vs-link)
- **lion** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/linen-vs-lion)
- **lone** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/linen-vs-lone)
- **Lynn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/linen-vs-lynn)
- **lite** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/linen-vs-lite)
- **linn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/linen-vs-linn)
- **lint** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/linen-vs-lint)
- **lire** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/linen-vs-lire)
- **Lise** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/linen-vs-lise)
- **lino** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/linen-vs-lino)
- **lives** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/linen-vs-lives)
- **lines** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/linen-vs-lines)
- **lived** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/linen-vs-lived)
- **links** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/linen-vs-links)
- **liver** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/linen-vs-liver)
- **Linux** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/linen-vs-linux)
- **liner** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/linen-vs-liner)
- **liter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/linen-vs-liter)
- **livin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/linen-vs-livin)

## Common misspellings (6)
`ilnen`, `lienn`, `linenn`, `linnen`, `llinen`, `lnien`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/linen