306: ache Oct 10, 2015
Much like in any other science, be it natural, social, psychological or
otherwise, linguistic scientists are constantly correcting past
mistakes. The word, 'ache' is spelt the way that is is largely because
of Dr. Johnson's mistaken assumption that its derivation is from the
Greek 'akhos' meaning ‘pain’. It is now believed that the word comes
from the Old English 'æce' as a noun, which was acan as verb.
In Middle English and early modern English the noun was spelled 'atche' and (rhyming with ‘patch’) and the verb was spelled and pronounced as it is today. The noun began to be pronounced like the verb around 1700, near to the time when Dr. Johnson wrote his dictionary.
In Middle English and early modern English the noun was spelled 'atche' and (rhyming with ‘patch’) and the verb was spelled and pronounced as it is today. The noun began to be pronounced like the verb around 1700, near to the time when Dr. Johnson wrote his dictionary.