# Hos is

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hos-is/44721>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 9, 2000, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hos-is/44721 "2000-12-09T03:00:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![bcullman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bcullman/32/8207_2.png) [@bcullman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bcullman)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2000, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hos-is/44721/1 "2000-12-09T03:00:24Z")

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On the airplane, there is a message that says “Your seat cushion can be used as a flotation device” I’ve seen this on older airplanes, and newer ones (I was just on a 737-700)

It seems to me the proper spelling would be “floatation”, the root word being “float”. Would usage of the prefix “flo-” somehow make the spelling I see on the plane correct?

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**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2000, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hos-is/44721/2 "2000-12-09T03:07:30Z")

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My dictionary (Webster’s) lists **floatation** as an alternate spelling of the quite correct **flotation**. So you could, I suppose, use that spelling and argue that you’re correct. Mainstream usage, though, would be **flotation**.

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**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2000, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hos-is/44721/3 "2000-12-09T03:18:46Z")

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I think it’s just part of America’s unofficial spelling reform. Does anyone spell them “doughnuts” instead of “donuts” anymore?

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**Author:** ![straykat23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@straykat23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/straykat23)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2000, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hos-is/44721/4 "2000-12-09T04:00:17Z")

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It bothered me too; I looked it up and saw that it was an alternate spelling. Seems that when flotation is used that it should be pronounced flot- (rhymes with not) rather than float-.

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**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2000, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hos-is/44721/5 "2000-12-09T04:15:05Z")

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Merriam-Webster Online says:

> [@](#):
>
> Main Entry: **[sup]1[/sup]float**  
> Pronunciation: 'flOt  
> Function: _noun_  
> Etymology: Middle English \*flote \*boat, float, from Old English \*flota \*ship; akin to Old High German \*flOz \*raft, stream, Old English \*flEotan \*to float – more at FLEET  
> Date: before 12th century

The real question is not “What happened to the ‘a’?” but “How’d the ‘a’ get there in the first place?”