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Home  »  The American Language  »  Page 222

H.L. Mencken (1880–1956). The American Language. 1921.

Page 222

  2. The reduction of duplicate consonants to single consonants:
American English
councilorcouncillor
counselorcounsellor
fagotfaggot
jewelryjewellery
net (adj.)nett
travelertraveller
wagonwaggon
woolenwoollen
  3. The omission of a redundant e:
annex (noun)annexe
asphaltasphalte
axaxe
form (printer’s)forme
good-bygoodbye
intern (noun)interne
peas (plu. of pea)pease
story (of a house)storey
  4. The change of terminal -re into -er:
calibercalibre
centercentre
fiberfibre
literlitre
metermetre
saltpetersaltpetre
theatertheatre
  5. The omission of unaccented foreign terminations:
catalogcatalogue
envelop 1envelope
epauletepaulette
gramgramme
programprogramme
prologprologue
toilettoilette
verandaverandah
  6. The omission of u when combined with a or o:
balk (verb)baulk
font (printer’s)fount
gantlet (to run the—)gauntlet
moldmould
moltmoult
mustachemoustache
stanchstaunch