lotus
/ˈloʊtəs/noun
lotus is spelled L-O-T-U-S: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 4.2 times per million words in written English, the 12,578th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, lotus means “Any member of the genus Nelumbo of aquatic plants in the family Nelumbonaceae” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of lotus is lotuses or loti.
How many letters and syllables are in lotus?
| Letters | 5: L-O-T-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.2 times per million words; the 12,578th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is lotus?
Lotus appears 4.2 times per million words in written English, the 12,578th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lotus?
- US /ˈloʊtəs/
- UK /ˈləʊtəs/
Lotus has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-lotus.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-lotus.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with lotus?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as lotus from its last stressed vowel (/oʊtəs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of lotus
- lotuses plural
- loti plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lotus mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any member of the genus Nelumbo of aquatic plants in the family Nelumbonaceae.
- 2
A water lily (Nymphaea), especially those of Egypt or India.
- 3
A legendary plant eaten by the Lotophagi of the Odyssey that caused drowsiness and euphoria.
- 4
A date plum or Caucasian persimmon (Diospyros lotus).
- 5
Any member of the genus Lotus, a terrestrial genus with small flowers that includes bird's-foot trefoils and deervetches.
- 6
A lotustree or lotus jujube (Ziziphus lotus), a shrub with edible fruit.
- 7
An architectural motif of ancient Egyptian temples.
- 8
Ellipsis of lotus position.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lotus in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense plant of the genus Nelumbo:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | lotus |
| German | Hornklee, Lotos, Lotosblume, Lotus |
| Portuguese | lótus, flor de lótus |
| Spanish | loto |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does lotus come from?
Unadapted borrowing from Latin lōtus, from Ancient Greek λωτός (lōtós). Doublet of lote. First attested in the 1540s. Ultimately from Hebrew לוֹט (lōṭ, “myrrh”, literally “covering, envelope”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).