lissom
/ˈlɪsəm/
"lissom" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“lissom” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Flexible and graceful in movement; lithe.
Corpus desk
Index EN-lissom · lissom · English
lissom · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 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 | lissom |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈlɪsəm/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “lissom” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
lissom is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈlɪsəm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Flexible and graceful in movement; lithe.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for lissom in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English lithsum, equivalent to lithe + -some. Doublet of lithesome. The correct English form is lissom, spelled L-I-S-S-O-M.
Definition
- 1Flexible and graceful in movement; lithe.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how lissom appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Now, our country lads, [...] are so much better made, so much more athletic, and yet so much lissomer—to use a Hampshire phrase, which deserves at least to be good English.
A brig you see, sir, is much more laboursome in a gale of wind. A Schooner is much lissomer built.
Etymology
From Middle English lithsum, equivalent to lithe + -some. Doublet of lithesome.
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.
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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.