res ipsa loquitur
"res-ipsa-loquitur" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“res ipsa loquitur” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 17
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The import of a thing or situation is obvious.
Corpus desk
Index EN-res-ipsa-loquitur · res ipsa loquitur · English
res ipsa loquitur · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 17 letters
- VOW-7 7 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "R" 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 | res ipsa loquitur |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Phrase |
| Letters | 17 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “res ipsa loquitur” in English
Rare enough to double-check
res ipsa loquitur is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aphrase. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for res ipsa loquitur, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Unadapted borrowing from Latin rēs ipsa loquitur (“the thing speaks for itself”, literally “the thing itself speaks”). The correct English form is res ipsa loquitur, spelled R-E-S- -I-P-S-A- -L-O-Q-U-I-T-U-R.
Definition
- 1The import of a thing or situation is obvious.
- 2A maxim where the very improbable facts of an accident imply the negligence of the defendant. It effectively shifts the burden of proof to the defendant.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how res ipsa loquitur appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The court in that case established three criteria that must be shown for res ipsa loquitur to apply: The injury must be the kind that ordinarily doesn't occur in the absence of some type of negligence.
Res ipsa loquitur was frequently applied in cases involving foreign bodies in foodstuffs.
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from Latin rēs ipsa loquitur (“the thing speaks for itself”, literally “the thing itself speaks”).
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.