livre

/ˈliːvɹə/

//ˈliːvɹə// noun

"livre" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“livre” is uncommon English (frequency #57,522 among 2,297 “L” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#57,522
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A unit of currency formerly used in France, divided into 20 sols or sous.

Corpus desk

Index EN-livre · livre · English

livre · rank #57,522 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #57,522
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH litigate

Nearest frequency peer: litigate (-1 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 “livre”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for livre
PropertyValue
Headwordlivre
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈliːvɹə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#57,522
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “livre” 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).livrefalls 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: “litigate” (#57,521), “Lipman” (#57,520), “lineal” (#57,519). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “livre” is #57,522. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

livre is uncommon English at frequency #57,522 among 2,297 “L” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈliːvɹə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

livre doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French livre. Doublet of arratel, libbra, Libra, libra, lira, litra, litre, and rottol. The correct English form is livre, spelled L-I-V-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A unit of currency formerly used in France, divided into 20 sols or sous.
  2. 2
    A lira
  3. 3
    An ancient French unit of weight, equal to about 1 avoirdupois pound.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. They like to see them awarded comfortable pensions. Is it 700,000 livres a year to the Polignac family?
  2. He never, it should be noted, totally renounced his inheritance: a critic of the court round, he benefited to the tune of a cool two million livres a year from royal largesse […].

Etymology

Borrowed from French livre. Doublet of arratel, libbra, Libra, libra, lira, litra, litre, and rottol.

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 "livre"?
"livre" is spelled L-I-V-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈliːvɹə/.
What does "livre" mean?
As a noun, "livre" means: A unit of currency formerly used in France, divided into 20 sols or sous.
How do you pronounce "livre"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "livre" is /ˈliːvɹə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "livre"?
Borrowed from French livre. Doublet of arratel, libbra, Libra, libra, lira, litra, litre, and rottol. 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 "livre", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list