lithology

noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"lithology" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“lithology” is uncommon English (frequency #90,667 among 2,297 “L” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#90,667
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The study of rocks, with particular emphasis on their description and classification.

Corpus desk

Index EN-lithology · lithology · English

lithology · rank #90,667 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #90,667
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH lipopolysacch…

Nearest frequency peer: lipopolysaccharide (-2 rank slots)

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.

Long-tail ranks near “lithology”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “lithology” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for lithology
PropertyValue
Headwordlithology
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Frequency rank#90,667
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “lithology” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).lithologyfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “lipopolysaccharide” (#90,665), “limpid” (#90,664), “Lewistown” (#90,663). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “lithology” is #90,667. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

lithology is uncommon English at frequency #90,667 among 2,297 “L” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for lithology in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From litho- + -ology. The correct English form is lithology, spelled L-I-T-H-O-L-O-G-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The study of rocks, with particular emphasis on their description and classification.
  2. 2
    The general composition of a rock or rock sequence.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how lithology appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The ‘monomict’ meteorites are samples of a single lithology while the polymict meteorites are those containing two or more lithologies.

Etymology

From litho- + -ology.

This word in other languages

lithologie(Français)

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

How do you spell "lithology"?
"lithology" is spelled L-I-T-H-O-L-O-G-Y.
What does "lithology" mean?
As a noun, "lithology" means: The study of rocks, with particular emphasis on their description and classification.
What is the origin of the word "lithology"?
From litho- + -ology. 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "lithology", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Lewistown#90,663leitmotif#90,658legionary#90,656leavening#90,654

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list