Questions tagged [orthography]
This tag is for questions concerning the written representation of the English language, especially spelling and word breaks (including hyphenation).
0
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1answer
31 views
Why do many people misspell “cuirass” as “cuircass”?
I thought so myself until hearing someone pronounce the word - I've always pronounced it in my head as kur kass. Initially, I assumed the 'c' must be silent, so I did a search to find out. Of course, ...
0
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0answers
16 views
is it okay to start a paragraph with Due to? [duplicate]
Due to the severe foot injury, I was recommended to stay on bed rest for three months and also attend physical therapy to heal completely
2
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4answers
41 views
Prime-square or prime-squared? [closed]
I am not so sure which one is the correct spelling. When we try to say a square/cube of a prime, we should call it a "prime-squared/cubed" or a "prime-square/cube" number?
It sounds to me that "...
-2
votes
2answers
125 views
The Middle English spelling of 'Jesus' [closed]
The meaning of the depicted word, in my opinion, is "Jesus", but what is its (page 98) Lk.2:27 spelling?
1
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0answers
42 views
Spelling changes
There was a word I learned to spell when I was 11 in which there was a silent G. It is no longer used. Right now I cannot remember the word, but I am interested in finding out how to locate U.S. ...
4
votes
1answer
2k views
The meaning of the Middle English word “king” [closed]
Why was the word (?verb?) "king" used in this (page 63) Mk.2:6 part of the Wycliffe Bible?
The King James Version
Mk.2:6
But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their ...
0
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0answers
36 views
The name of the letter, which is related to two English letters “gh” [duplicate]
What is the name of the marked letter, which in my opinion relates to the two modern English letters "gh"?
-1
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1answer
80 views
The etymology and the Middle English spelling of “beginning” [closed]
This question is about historical spelling, but in my opinion the knowledge of the historical spelling relates with the etymology knowledge.
The questions are:
1. Is the fourth letter in image 1 (y) ...
2
votes
2answers
154 views
What is the use of the double L in Llama and double A in Aardvark? [duplicate]
Always wanted a clear explanation as to why these animals had double letters at the beginning of the spelling. What’s up with that?
0
votes
1answer
54 views
“Sic on” or “Sick on”? [closed]
What is the actual spelling of "sic"/"sick" in a phrase like "I will sic my dog on you"? This is a tricky one to look up in an online dictionary, every match seems to be referring to an editor's mark ...
0
votes
2answers
49 views
Is it deodoriser/deodorizer/deodouriser/deodourizer? In British English as well as American [closed]
British English would usually use "-our" and "-ser" and American English would use "-or" and "-zer".
I don't seem to find an appropriate answer to this. Which combination is actually correct for ...
0
votes
2answers
31 views
Should it be “doxxed/doxxing” or “doxed/doxing”?
The Oxford Style Guide says, for example, that:
When the final consonant is w, x, or y this is not doubled:
tow, towing, towed
vex, vexing, vexed
However, it seems that doxxed/doxxing ...
1
vote
2answers
53 views
Is it Decryptor or Decrypter? [duplicate]
I'm coding a decryption service and wondering which is the best name, Decryptor or Decrypter I had a quick look online and it appears -er and -or convert a verb to an agent noun, however is one ...
0
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2answers
43 views
Verb for action; “Actioning”
I am currently writing an email to office management.
I am asking for office management to action a fix. I want to ask them in a polite manner.
The sentence I have: "Please consider actioning a fix."...
5
votes
2answers
68 views
Different etymologies for spoken and written forms
I know a word in another language which appears at first to have a highly irregular spelling that does not match the pronunciation. However, further examination suggests that the spoken and written ...
-1
votes
1answer
46 views
What's the word after Gucci and Hermes?
Here is the link of the video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9Y5i77gpwY
And in about 0:07, there is an expression
Rocking the next Gucci ? or Hermes ?
and I can't figure out what words should ...
4
votes
1answer
91 views
Shouldn't we spell “extrovert” as “extravert”? [closed]
I saw the spelling extrovert in a text, but I intuitively felt that the correct spelling is extravert.
I did a little research and read that extravert is commonly used in scientific/technical ...
1
vote
1answer
61 views
Why father’s first letter is capital [duplicate]
After they had their supper, Father went into the living-room to watch TV.
Why use Father not father?
3
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1answer
146 views
spatio or spatial
Searching the Google scholar,
"spatio-temporal" returnn 778,000 hits,
"spatial-temporal" returns 798,000 hits,
"spatial-temporal scales" returns 3,620 hits,
"spatio-temporal scales" returns 13,...
5
votes
2answers
409 views
Cedent or Cedant
In insurance it is very common to refer to a company who cedes some risk, but the spelling is inconsistent. Sometimes it is spelt "cedent" and sometimes it is spelt "cedant".
Which is more correct? ...
0
votes
2answers
447 views
What did Colbert mean by “bedude form"?
In his most recent monologue on The Late Show, the comedian host Stephen Colbert, gently mocked a New York Times reporter's style of writing (watch the excerpt on YouTube)
“500 words” she whispered,...
1
vote
1answer
69 views
Orthograpy of /æ/ in unstressed syllables
Some words like:
magnificent /mæɡˈnɪfəsənt/, anesthesia /ˌæn.əs.ˈθi.ʒə/, acrobat /ˈæk.ɹo.bæt/
accidentally /ˌæksəˈdɛnt(ə)li/, aluminium /ˌæl(j)uˈmɪn.j.əm/, satisfaction /sætɪsˈfækʃən/
have an ...
1
vote
3answers
69 views
Which is the preferred spelling, “byproduct,” “by-product,” or “by product?”
I've seen the word "byproduct" written several different ways and I'm wondering which is the preferred format? Is this a variation between US and British English or just a matter of a "house style?"
1
vote
1answer
56 views
Correct wording/spelling for our company's new slogan [closed]
I work for a small company (located in Italy) which makes websites and sells/repairs computers.
Right now we are in the process of creating a new logo and updating our slogan / corporate design.
My ...
4
votes
1answer
699 views
Why do we liquefy when we also solidify (but not soledefy)?
I always misspell liquefy and it drives me nuts.
Solids will (or, I suppose, have) solidify but liquids apparently miss out on the chance to liquidify. Instead they have to liquefy I'm sure this is ...
0
votes
1answer
159 views
Why is “make do” considered correct
Why is "make do" considered correct?
I am specifically not asking why "make due" grinds people's gears, how distressing they find it, or what they feel "make do" would mean.
Lacking an etymology, ...
0
votes
1answer
132 views
Full-stack vs Full Stack, Back-end vs Back end, Front-end vs Front end
Software Developers use the dash interchangeably for these terms.
Front-end meaning one works on the "Front End" of an application (e.g. HTML), Back-end meaning one works on the "Back End" of an ...
1
vote
0answers
8 views
friend of the familyname's or familynames [duplicate]
Is it
"John is a friend of the Smith's."
or
"John is a friend of the Smiths."
?
Thank you for your answer :)
20
votes
4answers
4k views
Why do we spell the word “who” with a silent “w” when it isn’t needed?
If we spelled who without the W – making it ho like with do and to — it could still make sense, so why is there a silent W in the word who?
0
votes
1answer
40 views
Co-pay vs copartnership: Prefix hyphenation in AmE
In AmE, we tend to close up prefixes like co-, re-, pre-, post-, etc. unless the first letter of the main word is the same vowel as the last letter of the prefix. But I see some exceptions like ...
1
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0answers
114 views
“miss assessed” “miss-assessed” or “misassessed”?
I googled this, and I am getting ambiguous results. In books, even in legal documents, I can find examples of "misassess", "miss assess" and "miss-assess". What is the correct way to spell this verb?
...
1
vote
1answer
141 views
'Histogramed' or 'histogrammed'?
The following rule (or 'rule', this being English) is sometimes quoted:
If a word has two or more syllables, double the final consonant when adding a suffix if and only if the final syllable is ...
1
vote
2answers
246 views
Is “commerical” a valid and different word from “commercial”? [closed]
Googling, I see many places using the spelling commerical, but I don't see that spelling in any dictionaries at all. Is it a mistake for commercial, or are these two different words?
0
votes
1answer
122 views
“25th December” vs “25 December”: Should I use ordinals or cardinals for the day of the month?
In one of the IELTS listening tests, there is a fill-out-the-blank question reading:
The museum is not open on ___.
My answer was “25th December”. However, the official answer is “25 ...
3
votes
1answer
44 views
Is the edh ð always curved, or can it be straight?
I'm wondering about the orthography of the old english edh ð. It is always drawn (lowercase) as a curved d with the line through it. But I'm wondering if it would be acceptable to just have it be a ...
3
votes
1answer
69 views
How homogeneous was Old English spelling?
Are varying spellings available, or was Old English rather uniform, as far as the sources show?
Variant spelling may have indicated different verbal dialects, but written dialects, involuntary eye ...
2
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0answers
38 views
“Testbed” or “test bed”? [duplicate]
"A testbed is a platform for conducting rigorous, transparent, and replicable testing of scientific theories, computational tools, and new technologies" (Wikipedia).
While Wikipedia seems to prefer "...
0
votes
1answer
42 views
nonclassical vs. non-classical
I've seen both spellings many times, i.e. on Wikipedia, Dictionary.com and dozens of papers. I was wondering if there is a difference between US, Canadian, Australian and British spelling or if you ...
0
votes
1answer
78 views
Why do people leave out the “r” on the word your? [closed]
I have noticed that a common error in typed documents (Including my own) is that often the letter "r" is left off the word your.
Does anybody have any idea why?
I do note that sometimes when ...
14
votes
1answer
766 views
Difference between /əʳ/ and /ɚ/
Consider the word 'future.' Cambridge Dictionary shows the transcriptions /ˈfjuːtʃəʳ/ and /ˈfjuːtʃɚ/. Are they different?
1
vote
3answers
694 views
Is it ladle or laddle? [closed]
The author of a book I'm working on insists that a ladle, a serving spoon for soup or stew, is spelled laddle. A quick Google search pulled results of ladle, but most shopping sites and Youtube ...
-1
votes
1answer
86 views
Why is “poison” used in the word “food poisoning”? [closed]
The word "poison" has stronger feeling but we used in the "food poisoning".
According to Merriam - Webster online dictionary, definition of "food poisoning":
an acute gastrointestinal disorder ...
-1
votes
1answer
101 views
Journalist cum Researcher - without hyphens [closed]
As seen here.
I’m a WordPress Journalist cum Researcher who can turn the torrent of words into something of an acceptable length.
Does the use of the word "cum", assuming from latin, work in this ...
24
votes
4answers
5k views
What is the plural of the noun “go” (as in “have a go”)? [closed]
If I were to try to achieve something you could say I "had a go".
If I tried it multiple times, how would I write that down?
I had many goes
or
I had many go's
or
I had many gos
3
votes
4answers
395 views
“Naïve” yet “naivety”?
I am used to spelling "naïve" thus - "naïve". I am also used to Microsoft Word automatically changing "naive" to "naïve". Hence, I was surprised when it didn't change "naivety" to "naïvety". I then ...
0
votes
1answer
306 views
Is travell still an accepted variant of travel?
The word travell caught my eye recently.
It seems it's an archaic version of travel.
But is it still in use ?
AmEng traveled/traveling
BrEng travelled/travelling
But both AmEng and BrEng use travel ...
3
votes
1answer
663 views
Correct spelling of 'timestamp': one or two words?
Something I'm wondering about is the correct usage of the word(s) 'timestamp'. I don't know whether it's one (timestamp) or two (time stamp) words, and googling for the answer doesn't help me in ...
1
vote
0answers
44 views
Pipelineable/pipelinable? [duplicate]
In computer science, pipelining is a common technique used to increase the throughput of processing units, both in the context of hardware and software.
When describing a context that are amenable to ...
1
vote
2answers
39 views
To improve the carbon footprint vs. to reduce the carbon footprint
Y'all know the carbon footprint, describing the CO2 emissions released into the atmosphere by a company etc.. I am pretty unsure, if it needs to be to "improve" or to "reduce" the carbon footprint. ...
1
vote
2answers
488 views
The use of “en-” vs “em-” as a verb prefix
The prefix en- (from French) has a variant spelling em-. (This is also associated, although I believe imperfectly, with the use of the sound /m/ in the pronunciation of the prefix.) Although the ...
