lumbago
/lʌmˈbeɪɡəʊ/
"lumbago" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“lumbago” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Backache of the lumbar region or lower back, which can be caused by muscle strain or a slipped disc.
Corpus desk
Index EN-lumbago · lumbago · English
lumbago · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "L" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | lumbago |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /lʌmˈbeɪɡəʊ/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “lumbago” in English
Rare enough to double-check
lumbago is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /lʌmˈbeɪɡəʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
lumbago has no tracked misspelling variants, 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: The noun is borrowed from Late Latin lumbāgō (“backache of the lumbar region”), from Late Latin lumbus (“lumbar”), Latin lumbus (“loin”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lendʰ- (“loins”)) + -āgō (suffix forming nouns describing objects, animals, and pl… The correct English form is lumbago, spelled L-U-M-B-A-G-O.
Definition
- 1Backache of the lumbar region or lower back, which can be caused by muscle strain or a slipped disc.
- 2An episode of such backache.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how lumbago appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Sir Oswald Feiling winced as he turned to go home. He had felt a warning twinge of lumbago.
We may imagine an athletics coach with a scientific training researching into the physiology and the psychology of runners. [...] He finds out the effects of fatigue, of alcohol, of tobacco, of lumbago and of depression upon their performances.
Etymology
The noun is borrowed from Late Latin lumbāgō (“backache of the lumbar region”), from Late Latin lumbus (“lumbar”), Latin lumbus (“loin”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lendʰ- (“loins”)) + -āgō (suffix forming nouns describing objects, animals, and plants). The verb is derived from the noun.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.