# should ridiculous be changed to rediculous? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 22, 2008, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-ridiculous-be-changed-to-rediculous/438709 "2008-02-22T12:09:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-ridiculous-be-changed-to-rediculous/438709/21 "2008-02-23T00:02:53Z")
from the Latin ridere, to laugh. We’d also have to change derision and deride. Wood eye wont two right “rediculous”? Know! ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-ridiculous-be-changed-to-rediculous/438709/22 "2008-02-23T00:15:22Z")
Wood eye? _Wood eye?_ ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-ridiculous-be-changed-to-rediculous/438709/23 "2008-02-23T00:19:02Z")
[QUOTE=Patty O’Furniture] Wood eye? _Wood eye?_ [/QUOTE] Hook nose, hook nose! ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-ridiculous-be-changed-to-rediculous/438709/24 "2008-02-23T00:27:26Z")
I hereby redicule the OP’s premise. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-ridiculous-be-changed-to-rediculous/438709/25 "2008-02-23T13:52:32Z")
[QUOTE=Yumblie] There are many, many words in english that are spelled nonsensically, but ridiculous isn’t one of them. [/QUOTE] It may seem nonsensical, but there’s a reason why a word is spelled the way it is. It’s just that the reason is centuries old. Pronunciation changed over the centuries, but the spelling didn’t. When you consider that English has over 20 vowels, but only 5 vowel letters, you can understand why spelling seems nonsensical. In this case, it’s just an unstressed syllable with a schwa sound. The word’s Latin roots assign the syllable the roman letter “i,” but any vowel letter can represent the schwa sound. There’s no good reason to single out the first syllable of _ridiculous_. [QUOTE=Yumblie] Who says red-iculous? It’s rid-iculous, like rip, rim, rib… [/QUOTE] I think a lot, if not most, North Americans don’t pronounce the first syllable of _ridiculous_ with the same vowel as in a word such as _rim_. The schwa is lax, as is /I/, but it’s lower. Some people might switch between the two, depending on emphasis desired. [QUOTE=Yumblie] Some people even say ree-diculous…hmm, maybe that’s where the confusion comes from? Ugh, I hate english sometimes. [/QUOTE] If they do that, it’s probably just hyper-correction. Don’t hate English. Hate message boards and chat rooms. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-ridiculous-be-changed-to-rediculous/438709/26 "2008-02-23T14:36:07Z")
Redicule is nothing to be scared of. ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-ridiculous-be-changed-to-rediculous/438709/27 "2008-02-23T14:54:36Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] I hereby redicule the OP’s premise. [/QUOTE] You have to dicule it first. ---
**Author:** ![AdmiralCrunch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@AdmiralCrunch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AdmiralCrunch)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-ridiculous-be-changed-to-rediculous/438709/28 "2008-02-23T18:08:46Z")
I think ree-diculous could be a non-insulting emphasis. Ri-DICK-ulous should be accompanied by pointing a finger and saying, “That’s right, I just called you a dick.” If Microsoft had added spell checking to IE7, the internet would be a slightly better place. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-ridiculous-be-changed-to-rediculous/438709.md?page=1)