lœss

\løs\

/\løs\/ noun

The verdict

“lœss” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
4
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Dépôt sédimentaire détritique meuble, d’origine éolienne et périglaciaire, limon jaune clair ou chamois, au toucher farineux et pulvérulent, renfermant à l’origine jusqu’à 50 pour cent de calcaire ...

Corpus desk

Index FR-l-ss · lœss · French

lœss · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "L" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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 lœss
PropertyValue
Headwordlœss
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\løs\
Letters4
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Où “lœss” se place dans la fréquence du français

lœssreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

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

Rare enough to double-check

lœss is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \løs\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Dépôt sédimentaire détritique meuble, d’origine éolienne et périglaciaire, limon jaune clair ou chamois, au toucher farineux et pulvérulent, renfermant à l’origine jusqu’à 50 pour cent de calcaire ...".

lœss doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is lœss, spelled L-Œ-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Dépôt sédimentaire détritique meuble, d’origine éolienne et périglaciaire, limon jaune clair ou chamois, au toucher farineux et pulvérulent, renfermant à l’origine jusqu’à 50 pour cent de calcaire et riche en argile et en quartz.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Le lœss est très poreux et très perméable à l’eau ; ses particules font moins de 50 microns de diamètre.
  2. Le lœss est un limon fertile.

Synonyms

limon des plateauxterre jaune

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "lœss"?
"lœss" is spelled L-Œ-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is \løs\.
What does "lœss" mean?
As a noun, "lœss" means: Dépôt sédimentaire détritique meuble, d’origine éolienne et périglaciaire, limon jaune clair ou chamois, au toucher farineux et pulvérulent, renfermant à l’origine jusqu’à 50 pour cent de calcaire ...
How do you pronounce "lœss"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lœss" is \løs\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "lœss" come from?
"lœss" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

What to do next

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Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list