DavidW
2018-06-29 02:19:19 UTC
I'm confused by the online OED entry for, e.g., 'organize'
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/organize
If you search for either 'organize' or 'organise' you get the same
entry, which shows 'organize' in large letters first. This suggests that
this is the OED's preferred spelling (which it always has been, I
believe). Yet below that it says:
(British organise)
When did the OED start giving the British spelling as 'ise'? I don't
recall any printed Oxford dictionary from decades past saying that. Are
they saying that 'ize' is still preferred but Britain is now an
exception? Have they finally caved in to popular use after stubbornly
holding out against it for 100+ years?
I like to use 'ize' and then point to the OED's practice, which is
correctly based on etymology and pronunciation, if I'm accused of using
the American spelling, but now that won't work. Now the accuser will
just say that the 'ize' given must be the American spelling if the
British speling is 'ise', proving his point!
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/organize
If you search for either 'organize' or 'organise' you get the same
entry, which shows 'organize' in large letters first. This suggests that
this is the OED's preferred spelling (which it always has been, I
believe). Yet below that it says:
(British organise)
When did the OED start giving the British spelling as 'ise'? I don't
recall any printed Oxford dictionary from decades past saying that. Are
they saying that 'ize' is still preferred but Britain is now an
exception? Have they finally caved in to popular use after stubbornly
holding out against it for 100+ years?
I like to use 'ize' and then point to the OED's practice, which is
correctly based on etymology and pronunciation, if I'm accused of using
the American spelling, but now that won't work. Now the accuser will
just say that the 'ize' given must be the American spelling if the
British speling is 'ise', proving his point!