To keep things standardized, should we reverse the alias so that donut is the listed spelling? Since donut is the Americanized spelling and also a notably shorter version.
Topic: Donut vs Doughnut
Posted under General
nin10dope said:
To keep things standardized, should we reverse the alias so that donut is the listed spelling? Since donut is the Americanized spelling and also a notably shorter version.
While American spelling is preferred over British spelling, doughnut is seemingly also accepted as American spelling (see Wikipedia article). Likewise, we also use axe over ax.
However, in contradiction to this rule, we don't use gray_* (American spelling) over grey_* (British spelling), see topic #27182.
So, the reality of it is that spelling is really only changed based on popular use it seems.
thegreatwolfgang said:
While American spelling is preferred over British spelling, doughnut is seemingly also accepted as American spelling (see Wikipedia article). Likewise, we also use axe over ax.However, in contradiction to this rule, we don't use gray_* (American spelling) over grey_* (British spelling), see topic #27182.
So, the reality of it is that spelling is really only changed based on popular use it seems.
If it were up to popularity (I don't know when this spelling was set) I'd like to think that donut is more common. Of course I'm just a schmuck from the Midwest so I'm biased on that one. I like axe more, and to this day I have no preferred consistency on grey gray gae
nin10dope said:
If it were up to popularity (I don't know when this spelling was set) I'd like to think that donut is more common.
What I meant is based on popular use here, i.e., if e621 users want it changed or not.
thegreatwolfgang said:
What I meant is based on popular use here, i.e., if e621 users want it changed or not.
I guess the only way to get people's attention to vote on it is a BUR
nin10dope said:
I guess the only way to get people's attention to vote on it is a BUR
You're free to suggest it here.
The bulk update request #11313 is pending approval.
remove alias donut (0) -> doughnut (3729)
remove alias donuts (0) -> doughnut (3729)
remove alias doughtnuts (0) -> doughnut (3729) # missing
remove implication doughnut (3729) -> dessert (49560)
remove implication doughnut (3729) -> pastry (6589)
Reason: Both spellings are correct, but donut is faster and simpler to type. Plus we tend to standardize American English spellings for tags over British English except grey
This is to see which is more popular/desired on the site
Part 2
alias donuts -> donut alias doughtnut -> donut alias doughnuts -> donut imply donut -> dessert imply donut -> pastry
Wikipedia says:
Doughnut is the traditional spelling and still dominates even in the United States though donut is often used. At present, doughnut and the shortened form donut are both pervasive in American English.
The AP Stylebook also recommends doughnut over the informal donut.
It's not really a AmE vs BrE dispute here but rather an informal versus formal one. In most cases, we go with formal names, with exceptions for things people seldom say - like glasses rather than spectacles or car rather than automobile. Ongoing efforts are already being made to remove sexual slang from tag names, I just don't think switching to an informal term (which is also regional) is going to help anybody here.
i almost never see it spelled donut, maybe its a regional thing (grew up in midwest US), but I've almost always seen it spelled the proper way. i only ever see it spelled donut on like certain brands.
when searching Google the overview thing's header says "Doughnut" and also Wikipedia also says "Doughnut".
Donut is apparently an uncommon spelling. It still isn't a huge deal either way, but I think people tend to default to "doughnut" globally.
I've never seen it referred to as a doughnut outside of the internet. I'm all for changing it to donut.
thegreatwolfgang said:
Shouldn't be an issue since typing donut into the tags would automatically change it to doughnut anyways. That's how aliases work.
It's also about aesthetic honestly
And my champion for this statement is that the Simpsons spell it as donut :3
manitka said:
i almost never see it spelled donut, maybe its a regional thing (grew up in midwest US), but I've almost always seen it spelled the proper way. i only ever see it spelled donut on like certain brands.
That's bizarre because Kwik Trip, the king of midwest gas stations/convenience stores, uses donut (I'm also a lifelong midwesterner)
Honestly, before now I thought 'doughnut' was just incorrect instead of an alternative spelling...
kyiiel said:
Honestly, before now I thought 'doughnut' was just incorrect instead of an alternative spelling...
I often forget that spelling even exists, personally
Aside from doughnut being "more correct", I think the doughnut spelling with the "dough" spelled out helps distinguish it as meaning the food item, compared to donut's secondary meaning for an equine anus. People like tagging slang terms like donut and cookie for animal genitals/anuses, so the more it's clearly meaning the food item, the better.
It's not more correct, both spellings are valid dictionary words.
And I don't buy the idea that spelling out dough dissuades people from thinking about the sexual slang because people describe body parts as doughy all the time. Doughy is even recognized as an adjective for people.
And we shouldn't justify one spelling versus the other based on people's propensity to misuse tags.
Doughnut was the standardized spelling for me whilst growing up. I still use it. My brain recognizes "donut", but it doesn't mean I have to like it.
I'm only 28, but I feel 40 whenever I see new spellings for words—like now it's "pigeon" instead of "pidgeon".
solluna said:
I'm only 28, but I feel 40 whenever I see new spellings for words—like now it's "pigeon" instead of "pidgeon".
Unless you're somehow both 28 and several hundred years old, it has not been pidgeon for a long time
donovan_dmc said:
Unless you're somehow both 28 and several hundred years old, it has not been pidgeon for a long time
I was taught it was "pidgeon" growing up.
Ooh, I do love "duffnuts". 🍩
nin10dope said:
It's not more correct, both spellings are valid dictionary words.
Hence the quotation marks. Yes they're both valid and correct, but "doughnut" is the original and arguably still more widely used/recognized throughout the English speaking world.
nin10dope said:
And we shouldn't justify one spelling versus the other based on people's propensity to misuse tags.
I don't see why not as long as the word is clearly understood. We do justify different words based on people not being able to keep the meaning straight (e.g. snout vs muzzle, along with many other disambiguation tags), so I don't see why we couldn't use doughnut to help dissuade misuse of donut from meaning equine/puffy anuses.
solluna said:
I was taught it was "pidgeon" growing up.
It's not a terribly uncommon mistake. A lot of parents also teach their kids that 'hamster' is spelled 'hampster'.
nin10dope said:
If it were up to popularity (I don't know when this spelling was set) I'd like to think that donut is more common. Of course I'm just a schmuck from the Midwest so I'm biased on that one. I like axe more, and to this day I have no preferred consistency on grey gray gae
As an American, I think that Doughnut would be the correct spelling, since American English is extremely bastardized.
regsmutt said:
It's not a terribly uncommon mistake. A lot of parents also teach their kids that 'hamster' is spelled 'hampster'.
Wait really. I hope you're joking.
zeadyaer said:
Wait really. I hope you're joking.
I'm not. Unless they spend a lot of time at pet stores it isn't likely a frequently encountered written word. But it's a common enough concept that people will assume they know how it's spelled. Pronouncing it with a p is also very common for mouth-movement reasons. So you have someone spelling it how it sounds/feels in their mouth and they write it down 'hampster'.
dba_afish said:
when searching Google the overview thing's header says "Doughnut" and also Wikipedia also says "Doughnut".
I will mention that Wikipedia uses a mix of British English and American English, only requiring to be consistent within each article, although most articles seem to be written in British English due to being more familiar for the international English-speaking audience. As someone who has lived in both the U.S. and abroad, I have mostly seen others write out the full "doughnut", but brands with products in America will usually shorten this to "donut" on packaging. The current spelling is a non-issue for me, especially since many U.S.-based organizations prefer this variant in their spelling guidelines.
solluna said:
Doughnut was the standardized spelling for me whilst growing up. I still use it. My brain recognizes "donut", but it doesn't mean I have to like it.I'm only 28, but I feel 40 whenever I see new spellings for words—like now it's "pigeon" instead of "pidgeon".
Bro Google is flaming you if you search "pidgeon spelling"
The correct spelling for the word is "pigeon". "Pidgeon" is an incorrect spelling, although it may be seen occasionally, especially in archaic contexts or as part of the surname "Pidgeon".
I've actually never seen that spelling before (29)