lue
/ljuː/
"lue" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“lue” is uncommon English (frequency #57,529 among 2,297 “L” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #57,529
- frequency rank, English
- 2,297
- “L” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To sift using a sieve, particularly in mining tin or silver.
Corpus desk
Index EN-lue · lue · English
lue · rank #57,529 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #57,529
- LEN-MID 3 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,297
- PHOTO-FINISH lubricate
Nearest frequency peer: lubricate (-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 “lue”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- Lockport
Lockport
42,476 corpus weight
- Longchamp
Longchamp
42,474 corpus weight
- lubricate
lubricate
42,473 corpus weight
- lue
lue
42,472 corpus weight
- luminescent
luminescent
42,470 corpus weight
- Lundgren
Lundgren
42,469 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “lue” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | lue |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ljuː/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #57,529 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “lue” in English
Rare enough to double-check
lue is uncommon English at frequency #57,529 among 2,297 “L” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ljuː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To sift using a sieve, particularly in mining tin or silver.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for lue, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: Clipping of dillue (“sift with a sieve”), from Cornish dyllo (“sift with a sieve”). The correct English form is lue, spelled L-U-E.
Definition
- 1To sift using a sieve, particularly in mining tin or silver.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how lue appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Cardiganshire... That which is thus Buddled they lue with a thick hair sieve close wrought in a tub of water.
Cornwall... The fine [sc. tin] is lewed in a fine sierce.
Etymology
Clipping of dillue (“sift with a sieve”), from Cornish dyllo (“sift with a sieve”).
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 "lue"?
What does "lue" mean?
How do you pronounce "lue"?
What is the origin of the word "lue"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "lue", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).