loa
/ˈləʊ̯ə/
"loa" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“loa” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #32,899) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.
- #32,899
- frequency rank, English
- 2,297
- “L” headwords
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In the voodoo religion, a spirit intermediary between Bondye (the creator god) and human beings.
Corpus desk
Index EN-loa · loa · English
loa · rank #32,899 · 0 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-MID #32,899
- LEN-MID 3 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,297
- PHOTO-FINISH lingered
Nearest frequency peer: lingered (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “loa”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- Leavenworth
Leavenworth
67,107 corpus weight
- lingered
lingered
67,104 corpus weight
- loa
loa
67,102 corpus weight
- Lourdes
Lourdes
67,100 corpus weight
- luminosity
luminosity
67,097 corpus weight
- Luo
Luo
67,096 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “loa” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | loa |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈləʊ̯ə/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #32,899 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “loa” sits in English frequency
Easy to mix with look-alikes
The spelling risk for loa is neighbouring look-alikes ("Lt", "LP", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ˈləʊ̯ə/. Frequency #32,899 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Gloss: "In the voodoo religion, a spirit intermediary between Bondye (the creator god) and human beings.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for loa, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Lt", "LP", "Ls", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Haitian Creole lwa. The correct English form is loa, spelled L-O-A.
Definition
- 1In the voodoo religion, a spirit intermediary between Bondye (the creator god) and human beings.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how loa appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Here, on the Island Below the Sea, the loa have their permanent residence, their primal location.
Some will caution you at great length about the dangers of Vodou. They will tell you that the lwa are jealous, thin-skinned, and hot-tempered.
Etymology
Borrowed from Haitian Creole lwa.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "loa", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
What to do next
You've looked up "loa". Here's where to go from here.
- "loa" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "Lt". View pair
- Usage frequency rank #32,899 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "L" letter cohort. L–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.