linnet
/ˈlɪnɪt/
"linnet" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“linnet” is uncommon English (frequency #82,491 among 16,425 “L” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #82,491
- frequency rank, English
- 16,425
- “L” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A small passerine bird, the common linnet (Linaria cannabina syn. Carduelis cannabina), in the finch family Fringillidae, native to Europe, western Asia, and north Africa.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | linnet |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈlɪnɪt/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #82,491 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “linnet” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
linnet is uncommon English at frequency #82,491 among 16,425 “L” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈlɪnɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for linnet in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French linette, from lin (“flax”), from the bird's fondness for the seeds of flax, the source of linen and Old English līnete, līnetwige (“linnet”) (> dialectal English lintwhite). The correct English form is linnet, spelled L-I-N-N-E-T.
Definition
- 1A small passerine bird, the common linnet (Linaria cannabina syn. Carduelis cannabina), in the finch family Fringillidae, native to Europe, western Asia, and north Africa.
- 2A house finch (Haemorhous mexicanus), of North America.
Etymology
From Old French linette, from lin (“flax”), from the bird's fondness for the seeds of flax, the source of linen and Old English līnete, līnetwige (“linnet”) (> dialectal English lintwhite).
Synonyms
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); 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
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Using “linnet”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-I-N-N-E-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈlɪnɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.