lait maternel

\lɛ ma.tɛʁ.nɛl\

/\lɛ ma.tɛʁ.nɛl\/ noun

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Lait produit par le corps de la femme pour son bébé.

Corpus desk

Index FR-lait-maternel · lait maternel · French

lait maternel · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • 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 lait maternel
PropertyValue
Headwordlait maternel
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\lɛ ma.tɛʁ.nɛl\
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “lait maternel” sits in French frequency

lait maternel falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French 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

lait maternel is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \lɛ ma.tɛʁ.nɛl\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Lait produit par le corps de la femme pour son bébé.".

lait maternel has no tracked misspelling variants, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is lait maternel, spelled L-A-I-T- -M-A-T-E-R-N-E-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Lait produit par le corps de la femme pour son bébé.

Synonyms

lait maternel humain

Antonyms

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "lait maternel"?
"lait maternel" is spelled L-A-I-T- -M-A-T-E-R-N-E-L. The IPA pronunciation is \lɛ ma.tɛʁ.nɛl\.
What does "lait maternel" mean?
As a noun, "lait maternel" means: Lait produit par le corps de la femme pour son bébé.
How do you pronounce "lait maternel"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lait maternel" is \lɛ ma.tɛʁ.nɛl\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "lait maternel" come from?
"lait maternel" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.
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