Noah Webster had a lasting impact on language in the United States. Before publishing his American Dictionary of the English Language, he produced a series of spelling books that dominated American classrooms for almost a century. He was a proponent of spelling reform, believing that more regular orthography would not only make learning easier, but more importantly, it would distinguish the American way from the British, "an object of vast political consequence" to a young nation. Some of his suggested reforms caught on and still mark a difference between American and British writing: He replaced "colour" with "color," "centre" with "center," "defence" with "defense," "plough" with "plow," "draught" with "draft" and "gaol" with "jail."
However, many of Webster's reforms went nowhere. Here are 26 spellings that didn't catch on — at least until the dawn of LOLcats.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Today's political cartoons - April 14, 2024Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - Trump Derangement Syndrome, social media dangers, and more
-
5 rambunctious cartoons about the House speakership standoffCartoons Artists take on Mike Johnson's night terrors, the Speaker's chair, and more
-
The Week Unwrapped: Ultrarunning, menswear and a meaty rowPodcast Is the "Hardest Geezer" a high-endurance trendsetter? Will Ted Baker survive? And what's the beef with lab-grown meat?
