luteous

/ˈluːtiəs/

//ˈluːtiəs// adj

"luteous" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“luteous” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. 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) - Yellowish.

Corpus desk

Index EN-luteous · luteous · English

luteous · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 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.

Key facts for luteous
PropertyValue
Headwordluteous
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈluːtiəs/
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “luteous” in English

luteousfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

luteous is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈluːtiəs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for luteous in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin lūteus. The correct English form is luteous, spelled L-U-T-E-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Yellowish.
  2. 2
    Of or pertaining to mud.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how luteous appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. And men wept sorely,—for his voice had smoothed / Life’s whirlpool, with its softly-echoing tones, / Filling their hearts with peace—but his glad soul / Flung off her luteous chains, and winged her way / Far, far above the pigmy lamentations / Or frivolous praise of men.
  2. […] the hind tibiæ more luteous than in T. cordiger, but with the apical sixth more contrastedly black; […]

Etymology

From Latin lūteus.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "luteous"?
"luteous" is spelled L-U-T-E-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈluːtiəs/.
What does "luteous" mean?
As an adjective, "luteous" means: Yellowish.
How do you pronounce "luteous"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "luteous" is /ˈluːtiəs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "luteous"?
From Latin lūteus. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list