Every-Day Errors of Speech Part 2

=Cayenne=--ka-en', not ki-en'.

=Chaps=--chops, not chaps. The jaws. =Chops= is also correct orthography.

=Chasten=--chas'en, not chas'en. =Chastened=, =chastening=, etc., have also the long a.

=Chew=, not _chaw_. The latter word either as a verb or noun is now considered quite vulgar.

=Chid=, not chi'ded, is the imperfect tense of chide.

=Chimera=--ki-me'ra, not chi-me'ra, nor ki-me'ra.

=Chivalric=--s.h.i.+v'al-rik, not s.h.i.+v-al'rik. Worcester allows the latter.

=Chivalrous=--s.h.i.+v'al-rus, not s.h.i.+v-al'rus. Worcester gives chiv'al-rus also.

=Chivalry=--s.h.i.+v'al-ry, not chiv'al-ry. Worcester sanctions both.

=Cicerone=--che-che-ro'ne or sis-e-ro'ne, not sis'e-rone. A guide.

=Citrate=--sit'rate, not si'trate. "Citrate of magnesia."

=Climbed=, not clomb (klum). One climbs _up_ but does not climb _down_.

=Cochineal=--koch'i-neel, not ko'chi-neel nor ko'ki-neel.

=Cocoa= (ko'ko) is not made from the cocoa-nut or tree, but from the seeds of the _cacao_ (ka-ka'o) or chocolate tree.

The word is evidently a perversion, but it has gained a permanent footing in its present signification.

=Cognomen=--kog-no'men, not kog'no-men.

=Cold-chisel=, not _coal-chisel_. It is a chisel of peculiar strength and hardness for cutting _cold_ metal.

=Cole-slaw.= In the former editions of some dictionaries it has been taught that this word is derived from _cole_ meaning cabbage, and _slaw_ meaning salad. Cole-slaw--cabbage-salad.

The uninstructed soon changed the _cole_ into _cold_ and subst.i.tuted _hot_ for the other extreme of temperature, thus entirely changing the signification. What was really meant, was _hot cole-slaw_ and _cold cole-slaw_. Many persons still regard _cole-slaw_ as the proper word, and receipt books give that orthography. The last editions of Webster and Worcester, however, only give the words _cole_ and _slaw_ in separate places and define the latter as "sliced cabbage."

=Combatant=--kom'bat-ant, not kom-bat'ant.

=Combativeness=--kom'bat-ive-ness, not kom-bat'ive-ness.

=Come= is often thoughtlessly used for _go_ or some other word. If How is just leaving Howard's house it is right for How to say, "I'll come to see you soon," but Howard could not properly say, _at that place_, the same thing. He should say, "I will go to see you soon." If they both live in Philadelphia and should meet in New York, neither could say appropriately, "I'll come to see you after I get home;" that would mean that one would travel back from his home in Philadelphia to New York to see the other. But either might say, "Come and see me when you get home."

=Comparable=--kom'pa-ra-ble, not kom-par'a-ble.

=Complaisance=--kom'pla-zans, not kom-pla'zans. In complaisant and complaisantly, the accent is also on the first syllable. Worcester places it on the third, thus: complaisant (kom-pla-zant'), etc.

=Comptroller=--kon-trol'ler, not komp-trol'ler.

=Conduit=--kon'dit or kun'dit, not kon'duit or kon'dute. A pipe or ca.n.a.l for the conveyance of fluid.

=Confab=, not _conflab_. A contraction of confabulation.

=Congeries=--kon-je'ri-eez, not kon-je'rez nor kon'je-rez. A collection of particles into one ma.s.s.

=Contemptuous=, not =contemptible=, when the manifestation of contempt for another is meant. I once heard a young lady describing how she had withered at a glance a poor young man that had incurred her displeasure. "O, I gave him such a _contemptible_ look," said she. If in the enthusiasm of the rehearsal, the look that dwelt upon her features was akin to that given upon the occasion mentioned, no auditor doubted the exact truth of what she said; but she meant differently.

=Contiguous=--kon-tig'u-us, not kon-tij'u-us.

=Contour=--kon-toor', not kon'toor. The boundary lines of a figure.

=Contra-dance= is better than _country-dance_, the latter word being a corruption; but it has become admissible from long use.

_Contredanse_ is the French original, and means that the parties stand opposite to each other.

=Contrary=--kon'tra-ry, not kon-tra'ry, interfering with the rhythm of the distich from Mother Goose's Melodies:

"Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow?"

=Contumacy=--kon'tu-ma-sy, not kon-tu'ma-sy. Obstinacy, stubbornness.

=Contumely=--kon'tu-me-ly not kon-tu'me-ly. Insolence, contemptuousness.

=Conversant=--kon'ver-sant, not kon-ver'sant.

=Conversazione=--kon'ver-sat-se-o'na, not kon-ver-sas'si-one. A meeting for conversation. Worcester p.r.o.nounces it kon-ver-sat-ze-o'na. The plural is conversazioni (-ne).

=Corporal= punishment, not cor-po're-al.

=Cortege=--kor'tazh, not kor'teje. A train of attendants.

=Councilor=, is a member of council.

=Counselor=, one who gives advice. Worcester's spelling is councillor and counsellor.

=Creek=, not krick.

=Creole.= From Webster's dictionary are taken the following definitions and remarks:

1. "One born in America, or the West Indies, of European ancestors.

2. "One born within or near the tropics, of any color. 'The term creole negro is employed in the English West Indies to distinguish the negroes born there from the Africans imported during the time of the slave trade. The application of this term to the colored people has led to an idea common in some parts of the United States, though wholly unfounded, that it implies an admixture greater or less of African blood.'--R. Hildreth."

=Crinoline=--krin'o-lin, not krin'o-line nor krin'o-leen.

=Cuira.s.s=--kwe-ras' or kwe'ras, not ku'ras. A piece of armor.

=Cuisine=--kwe-zen', not ku-seen' or ku-zine'.

Cooking or cooking department.

=Culinary=--ku'li-na-ry, not kul'i-na-ry.