I was typing a response to a friend on facebook a bit ago and wanted to use the word welch, i.e., welch on a bet, but second-guessed myself as I was typing it.
Was the correct word welch, or welsh?
I typed welch, but thought I'd best double check before posting, and was happy to see confirmation from online dictionaries that my initial use was correct. As I dug further, I wasn't so sure.
When describing the nationality of people from the country of Wales (or the breed of pony originating there), Welsh is the proper spelling and it is capitalized since it's a proper noun. The verb, as I used it above, is welch, according to every online dictionary I checked. Thumbing through the pages of my bound and printed copy of Webster's New World Dictionary, however, the only listing for welch is that of a variant spelling of the word welsh.
Variant or no, since that dictionary was printed in 1970 and every other source I was able to put myfinger cursor on says welch, I think the latter is now accepted as proper when used as a verb. Perhaps the variant is used more today so as not to perpetuate a derogatory connotation of our friends across the pond?
So never welch on a bet, with the Welsh or anyone else.
Was the correct word welch, or welsh?
I typed welch, but thought I'd best double check before posting, and was happy to see confirmation from online dictionaries that my initial use was correct. As I dug further, I wasn't so sure.
Variant or no, since that dictionary was printed in 1970 and every other source I was able to put my
So never welch on a bet, with the Welsh or anyone else.
Language changes and develops over time, so the version you used is probably correct. Interesting post. :)
ReplyDeleteI am almost certain that welch is correct in this case, but it's not a word that you hear used very much these days.
ReplyDeletePeople spelling things like they are pronounced really can agravate at times, and a classic one for me is "potty", which I see so often written in the USA as "poddy", because "t" is often pronounced like a "d".
When I first moved to the USA I used to get fun made of me because of how I pronounced the word "Saturday". I didn't pronounce it "Sadderday" like everyone else.
Then there was the Chinese Buffet in Indiana where the waitress could never understand what I wanted to drink when I asked for "Water". Once I figured it out, I just asked for "Warder" and it worked like a gem :)
Got to love language, grammar and pronounciation...