# lynx

> English word · Noun · IPA /lɪŋks/ · frequency rank #26,871

## Definitions
1. Any of several medium-sized wild cats of the genus Lynx.

## Etymology
From Middle English lynx, linx, lenx, lynce, from Latin lynx, from Ancient Greek λύγξ (lúnx), from Proto-Hellenic *lúnks, from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“white; light; bright”), because of the cat's glowing eyes and ability to see in the dark.
Displaced English los; Middle English lusk (“lynx”), from Old English lox (“lynx”) as the animal died out in Britain during the Middle Ages.

## Easily confused with
- **Lyon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lynx-vs-lyon)
- **lyra** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lynx-vs-lyra)
- **lyre** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lynx-vs-lyre)
- **Lyons** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lynx-vs-lyons)
- **LN** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ln-vs-lynx)
- **lx** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lx-vs-lynx)
- **lin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lin-vs-lynx)
- **LAN** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lan-vs-lynx)
- **lax** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lax-vs-lynx)
- **lex** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lex-vs-lynx)
- **Len** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/len-vs-lynx)
- **lux** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lux-vs-lynx)
- **Lon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lon-vs-lynx)
- **lyn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lyn-vs-lynx)
- **lye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lye-vs-lynx)
- **lun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lun-vs-lynx)
- **lox** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lox-vs-lynx)
- **long** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/long-vs-lynx)
- **line** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/line-vs-lynx)
- **land** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/land-vs-lynx)

## Common misspellings (7)
`llynx`, `lnyx`, `lynnx`, `lynxx`, `lyxn`, `lyynx`, `ylnx`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/lynx