799: greenwich (in defense of English spelling) Feb 14, 2017
English orthography—and worse yet: Massachusetts' cities—is spelt in a way that is neither logical, consistent, nor in line even with pronunciation. The district now absorbed into London, 'Greenwich' is certainly no exception to this, but there is something to be said for the continuation of English's rich spelling-history. The area, once written as 'Gronewic' and 'Grenewic' in the 10th century, is named for it being a green 'vicus' which in Latin was a villa. What this provides people that would not be gotten through /gɹεnɪtʃ/ or 'grenich' approximately is that the area was notably green, old, and borrows from a Latin word. If you have your own thoughts on English spelling, comment below.