lordly
/ˈlɔː(ɹ)dli/
"lordly" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“lordly” is uncommon English (frequency #82,498 among 2,297 “L” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #82,498
- frequency rank, English
- 2,297
- “L” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of or relating to a lord.
Corpus desk
Index EN-lordly · lordly · English
lordly · rank #82,498 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #82,498
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,297
- PHOTO-FINISH Looe
Nearest frequency peer: Looe (-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 “lordly”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- linsey
linsey
17,509 corpus weight
- Loeffler
Loeffler
17,505 corpus weight
- Looe
Looe
17,504 corpus weight
- lordly
lordly
17,503 corpus weight
- loth
loth
17,502 corpus weight
- lowball
lowball
17,500 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “lordly” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | lordly |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈlɔː(ɹ)dli/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #82,498 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “lordly” in English
Rare enough to double-check
lordly is uncommon English at frequency #82,498 among 2,297 “L” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈlɔː(ɹ)dli/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
lordly has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English lordly, lordlich, from Old English hlāfordlīċ (“lordly; heroic; noble”), equivalent to lord + -ly. The adverb is from Middle English lordly, lordely, lordliche. The correct English form is lordly, spelled L-O-R-D-L-Y.
Definition
- 1Of or relating to a lord.
- 2Having the qualities of a lord; lordlike; noble
- 3Appropriate for, or suitable to, a lord; glorious.
- 4Proud; haughty; imperious; insolent.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how lordly appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Show us your lordly might: demonstrate that you can order people and get them to obey.
But they are the peers of the Queensland Parliament, and, having no lordly robes, must approach the Old Country model as closely as possible.
Etymology
From Middle English lordly, lordlich, from Old English hlāfordlīċ (“lordly; heroic; noble”), equivalent to lord + -ly. The adverb is from Middle English lordly, lordely, lordliche.
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "lordly", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).