20 Words with More Than One Spelling

20 Words with More Than One Spelling 20 Words with More Than One Spelling 20 Words with More Than One Spelling By Mark Nichol When the dictionary lists two alternate spellings of a word, should you use your judgment (or is that judgement?), or is there some other criterion for selection? Most dictionaries describe what is, rather than prescribe what should be hence the alternatives but they usually favor one form over the other. For both convenience and consistency, follow the dictionary’s indirect dictates. In printed dictionaries, the preferred form will have the full definition, while the runner-up will be cross-referenced to the winner. Online, the spelling in the Web page’s heading indicates the preference, though the other choice will likely also be listed. Here are some common entries with more than one orthography: 1. Acknowledgment/acknowledgement: Acknowledgment, though it looks awkward because the spelling implies that the g is pronounced hard, rather than (correctly) soft, is the preferred spelling, at least in American English. 2. Adviser/advisor: Adviser is the preferred spelling, though it is inconsistent with the spelling of the adjectival form advisory. 3. Aesthetic/esthetic: Aesthetic is the preferred spelling, a rare case of the digraph retained in American English in favor of a single-vowel spelling. (See also amoeba/ameba and archaeology/archeology.) 4. Ameba/amoeba: Amoeba is the preferred spelling. It also has variant plural forms: Amoebas is acceptable in all but the most strictly scientific contexts, where amoebae is preferred. 5. Amok/amuck: Amok is the traditional spelling, preferred to amuck. 6. Among/amongst: The -st extension is, in both American English and British English, widely considered an unnecessary appendage. (The same preference applies for amid/amidst and while/whilst; whilst is, at any rate, rare in American English.) 7. Analog/analogue: Analog is one of fourteen words in which the original -ue ending is clipped. Whether one form or the other is preferred varies depending on not only the word but also, occasionally, on which part of speech it represents. Most one- and two-syllable words ending in -ue have no truncated variant; prologue is the exception. 8. Archaeology/archeology: The version with the ae digraph is preferred over the single-vowel form. 9. Ax/axe: Ax is the preferred spelling, alone and in compounds (axman, battle-ax). 10. Collectable/collectible: Collectible is the preferred variant. 11. Barbecue/Barbeque: Barbeque is a variant of barbecue influenced by the truncation BBQ. 12. Disc/disk: Disc is a variant of disk, though it has valid status in the â€Å"phrase compact disc† and references to similar media. 13. Donut/doughnut: Donut is an informal variant of doughnut. 14. Enquire/inquire: Inquire is the preferred American English spelling, but in British English, enquire prevails. 15. Flier/flyer: Spelling depends on meaning. See this post, in which I conclude that pilots and passengers are fliers, and posted papers are flyers. 16. Gray/grey: Gray is the preferred spelling in American English; British English favors grey. 17. Nite/night: Nite is an informal variant of night. 18. Theater/theatre: The former spelling is preferred in American English, though the latter form sometimes appears in proper names. 19. Toward/towards: In American English, towards and other similar words are considered informal variants of the forms in which the s is omitted. 20. Whiskey/whisky: The former spelling is more common in the United States (as well as in Ireland), though usage in labeling varies. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Writing a Reference Letter (With Examples)Yay, Hooray, Woo-hoo and Other Acclamations7 Other Types of Pronouns

Atheists, Agnostics, and Apostates

Atheists, Agnostics, and Apostates Atheists, Agnostics, and Apostates Atheists, Agnostics, and Apostates By Mark Nichol What’s the difference between an atheist and an agnostic? As with most words, the answer lies in the etymological origins of the words. Atheist stems, through atheism, from the French word athà ©isme, which pertains to a lack of belief in God, or in any deity. (Here, the antonymic a- is linked to theism, which means â€Å"belief in God† or â€Å"belief in gods.†) An agnostic, by contrast, is one who does not know, and perhaps believes it is impossible to know, whether God or gods exist. (Here, the antonymic a- is linked to gnostic, meaning â€Å"one who knows,† ultimately from the Greek term gignÃ… skein, meaning â€Å"to know.†) Agnostic has also developed a nonreligious sense of â€Å"nonspecific† or â€Å"nonaligned,† as when referring to software that operates regardless of which platform of hardware on which it is installed. The central element in atheist is also seen in theology (â€Å"study of religion†) and theocracy (â€Å"rule by religion†) and is the basis of the name Theodore, which means â€Å"god-given,† and the root of agnostic is also seen in gnostic (which refers, when capitalized, to a school of philosophy) and diagnosis and prognosis. A related term is apostate, which denotes someone who renounces a belief; the term can also refer to defection from or abandonment of a political or social group; the origin of the term is the Greek word aphistasthai, which means â€Å"revolt.† (The condition of being an apostate is called apostasy.) Other words pertaining to a lack of belief (or of the â€Å"correct† belief) include gentile, heathen, and pagan. Gentile stems from the Latin root gens, meaning â€Å"nation,† and refers to someone not of the Jewish faith, a non-Mormon, or a nonbeliever in general. (Gentile is cognate with gentle, which literally means â€Å"civilized.†) Heathen, likely ultimately from Gothic, in English came to mean someone living outside of civilization (from heath, meaning â€Å"uncultivated land†) and therefore outside the religion of the civilization, with a connotation of inferiority. Pagan is popularly thought to have derived from the same sense (from the Latin term paganus, meaning â€Å"rustic (person)†), but it probably stems from another meaning of the term, Roman military slang for civilians and clumsy recruits equivalent to the nautical slur landlubber. (An obsolete cognate is paynim, used by Christians during the Crusades in Europe to refer to a follower of Islam.) Then there is infidel, which specifically refers to one who holds religious beliefs different from what is regarded as the true religion (the term, from Latin, means â€Å"unfaithful†- or, more accurately, â€Å"not of the faithful†- and is related to fidelity) and the term giaour, rarely used in English, which is ultimately from Persian by way of French and refers to one who is not Islamic. An idolater, meanwhile, is one who worships idols (or the â€Å"wrong† idols); the word is also used in a secular sense to refer to someone who uncritically reveres a person undeserving of the adulation. (The practice of an idolater is idolatry, and the adjectival form is idolatrous.) Check out our latest YouTube video: Masters Degree or Master’s Degree? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Computer Terms You Should Know10 Types of TransitionsThe 7 Types of Possessive Case