# Words you just realize you've been spelling wrong all along... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 19, 2015, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008 "2015-11-19T20:11:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/21 "2015-11-20T01:33:24Z")
Words you just realize you’ve been spelling wrong all along… Prety much everie other won. ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/22 "2015-11-20T01:40:14Z")
Supersede. It still feels like it ought to be spelled supercede. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/23 "2015-11-20T01:48:25Z")
Privilege. For years I spelled it privledge. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/24 "2015-11-20T01:56:38Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > I have to look up immigration and emigration almost every time. What’s up with the Ms? Who decided that? “Immigration” is “in” + “migration”, but harmonization makes the n into an m. “Emigration” is “ex” + “migration”, but even in Latin, the “ex” is often reduced to “e”. That probably doesn’t help much. My problem is mostly double letters. Is it “traveling” or “travelling”? To complicate things, many of these are different in US (where I grew up) and Canada (where I have spent 60% of my life. The worst speller I have ever seen was my PhD advisor. His main interest was an area of math called homological algebra in which the word the “kernel” is used all over the place. Whenever he was lecturing and had to write that word, he would hesitate, you could see the wheels grinding, “Let me see, I always misspell this word” and, _invariably_, write “kernal”. It was amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/25 "2015-11-20T02:34:54Z")
> [@ReticulatingSplines](#): > > I was shocked recently to discover that a person who opens a restaurant is a “restaurateur” and not a “restauranteur.” You just got me with this one. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/26 "2015-11-20T02:41:27Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > BIP: amok/amuck - which is it? 2 words, same definition? 2 different words? It’s amok, unless you’re talking about the [Daffy Duck cartoon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_Amuck). ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/27 "2015-11-20T02:44:47Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > “Immigration” is “in” + “migration”, but harmonization makes the n into an m. “Emigration” is “ex” + “migration”, but even in Latin, the “ex” is often reduced to “e”. That probably doesn’t help much. It will probably not help me spell it, but it is interesting to know! ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/28 "2015-11-20T02:53:20Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > Rigamarole. I can spell it right(or could if I ever used it), but I pronounce it wrong at first in my head when reading (I just did now :smack:). It rare enough that it’s not one of the immediately recognized words in my head so it automatically gets parsed by letters. It always comes out pseudo Italian; Reeg-uh-muh-roll-eh. I think my brain starts out toward Rigatoni and refuses to alter course. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/29 "2015-11-20T03:13:38Z")
The ones in this thread I’ve known, but the black hole that showed up for me within the last decade was the spelling of “sherbet.” I could have sworn it’s always been “sherbert.” I’ve never known a single person to not pronounce the second, phantom “r,” but, there it is, “sherbet.” I just assumed if I had seen that spelling that it was some screwed-up portmanteau of “sherbert” and “sorbet.” But, not. It really is “sherbet.” ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/30 "2015-11-20T03:17:05Z")
^ Just stick with jelotto. 😉 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/31 "2015-11-20T04:00:42Z")
There are actually two words, “forgo” and “forego,” with different meanings. Mind. Blown. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/32 "2015-11-20T04:56:48Z")
> [@ENugent](#): > > There are actually two words, “forgo” and “forego,” with different meanings. Mind. Blown. The American Heritage Usage Notes are the best edification on points like this. > [@](#): > > The two words have historically been spelled differently because they incorporate different prefixes: The fore- of forego is the same prefix (meaning “in front, ahead, before”) found in forefather, forehead, and foreword, while the for- of forgo is akin to the for- in forget, forlorn, and forsake and usually denotes loss or removal. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/33 "2015-11-20T06:03:11Z")
I keep wanting to spell “graffiti” as “grafitti”. But then it looks wrong so I have to fix it. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/34 "2015-11-20T10:23:22Z")
A couple of mine have come up. Not “restauranteur” and not “dilemna”. If we’re still keeping score, I did not attend Catholic schools. It was with great relief that I learned the correct pronunciation of “awry” (reading Hamlet in school) before I ever had the chance to speak the word publicly. ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ac8455/32.png) [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Great_Darsh_Face)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/35 "2015-11-20T11:25:28Z")
Llanfairpwyllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyllllantisiliogogogoch. Turns out it’s not actually spelled Llanfairpwyllgwyngyllgogerychwryndrobwyllllantisiliogogogoch after all. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/36 "2015-11-20T11:57:15Z")
> [@pohjonen](#): > > Supersede. It still feels like it ought to be spelled supercede. I came here to say this one. So many words end in -cede that I assumed it was also one of those. Also propellor. Or propeller. Whichever is the right one. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/37 "2015-11-20T13:58:57Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I came here to say this one. So many words end in -cede that I assumed it was also one of those. “Supersede” is the only word in the English language that ends in -sede. I learned that from that Charlie Brown movie where he enters the spelling bee. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/38 "2015-11-20T17:13:05Z")
I also won the grade-school spelling bee, but recently learned that what I’d been writing for decades, _Can you remember any of the [SIZE=“3”]principle evils that he laid to the charge of women?[/SIZE]_ was wrong! :eek: :o I blame a grade-school teacher who told us _“the school principal is AL, all other principles are LE.”_ (BTW, I often write “becuase” or “Interent” not because I don’t know how to spell these words, but because my fingers just push at the keyboard unsynchronized and in a way that seems comfortable. :smack: I’ve found that these errors are reduced if I stare at the keyboard while I’m typing.) ---
**Author:** ![OffByOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/45deac/32.png) [@OffByOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OffByOne)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/39 "2015-11-20T19:00:50Z")
Laugh if you like, but I was almost forty before finding out that “fourty” is incorrect. In a grade school spelling bee, I misspelled “beginning” by dropping one of the first two Ns. Finally, at over fifty I learned the rule about doubling the final letter when adding suffixes to a verb: if the last syllable is stressed, double the letter. For instance, “exit” has the stress on the first syllable, so “exited” and “exiting”, but “begin” has the last syllable stressed, so it becomes “beginning”. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/40 "2015-11-20T19:09:14Z")
Because it breaks the pattern: “four”, “fourth”, “fourteen”, … , “four hundred”. But NOOOO. “Four tens” decides to lose the “u”. Stupid 17th Century vowel shift. ETA: slightly ninja’d by **OffByOne**. Good to know I’m not the only. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008.md?page=3)