Two more tough words to spell
I wrote yesterday about a word that was misspelled by thirteen out of fourteen experienced editors. Here are two words from the test that were each missed by ten of the editors. The second one is a little surprising; at least, I consider it a basic word that any editor should know.
Pick the spelling preferred by Webster’s New Collegiate:
6.
___ supercede
___ superceed
___ supersede
___ superseed
15.
___ miniscule
___ minniscule
___ minnuscule
___ minuscule
Answers after the break . . .
6.
___ supercede
___ superceed
X__ supersede
___ superseed
15.
___ miniscule
___ minniscule
___ minnuscule
X__ minuscule
Some might allow supercede with a cee, but it is a variant spelling; supersede is preferred (needless to say, this only applies to U.S. usage; also, the test referenced Webster’s New Collegiate as the spelling authority). As I mentioned, I’m surprised so many of the editors missed minuscule.
.
Posted: July 17th, 2008 under editing.
Comments: 2
Comments
Comment from debbie
Time: August 6, 2008, 7:05 am
Come on! The word means very small-not minus, therefore, miniscule would be a more correct spelling.
Comment from xensen
Time: August 6, 2008, 9:24 am
That’s pretty funny, Debbie!
“Minuscule” derives the u from its Latin source word — the Latin word minutus means “small.” A related English word is “minute.”
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