Spelling the month Feb

beebaw · 24-01-2011 1:53pm #1

Well I am in my 30's and for the past 30 odd years i have spelt the month Feb "Febuary" until when i looked onto the next month on my phone and was amazed to find that it is actually spelt "February". to me this even looks wrong but its actually know its correct.
So I took it upon myself to ask a few friends over the weekend to spell February and every one of them actually spelt it incorrect leaving out the “r” after “b”.
so go on admit to it in the poll above for curiosity?

pickarooney · 24-01-2011 2:11pm

I'm guessing you don't pronounce the first R either?

Posy · 24-01-2011 7:22pm

I spell it February. I can understand people who spell it wrong though, due to it's pronunciation, but it's a pretty basic word that is learned at a young age in primary school.
(I'm not passing any judgements though, I'm not the greatest speller myself!!)

Earthhorse · 24-01-2011 7:43pm

pickarooney wrote: »

I'm guessing you don't pronounce the first R either?

Eh, no?

The first 'r' is silent, as in library.

pickarooney · 25-01-2011 11:03am

Earthhorse wrote: »

Eh, no?

The first 'r' is silent, as in library.

You're either taking the piss or you're Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel.

FlutterinBantam · 29-01-2011 7:18am

Or Ryan Tubridy of RTE.

Jannury... Febbury....listen out for it.

mrsdewinter · 29-01-2011 7:31am

Afaik, the 1st 'r' in Feb is indeed silent. Damn. Now, I'll have to check

JaneB · 29-01-2011 7:44am

For years I thought that "arctic" (as in the north pole) was spelt "artic",

FlutterinBantam · 29-01-2011 4:08pm

mrsdewinter wrote: »

Afaik, the 1st 'r' in Feb is indeed silent. Damn. Now, I'll have to check

Not as far as i know Missus.

MathsManiac · 29-01-2011 9:08pm

Tolling?

(Or could there really be people out there who think these "r"s are meant to be silent?)

looksee · 30-01-2011 11:35am

I always pronounce it Febuary, while knowing it is spelled February and probably should be pronounced that way. Quick google suggests that either pronunciation is ok, but the spelling does have the first r.

The Raven. · 30-01-2011 3:10pm

'February' is the correct spelling and both 'r's are pronounced. OED agrees.

The incorrect dropping of the first 'r' most likely came about because February comes after January which has only one 'r', and it is easier to pronounce 'February' in a similar manner.

FlutterinBantam · 31-01-2011 8:09am

The Raven. wrote: »

'February' is the correct spelling and both 'r's are pronounced. OED agrees.

The incorrect dropping of the first 'r' most likely came about because February comes after January which has only one 'r', and it is easier to pronounce 'February' in a similar manner.

In other words, pure laziness.

Dunjohn · 01-02-2011 9:44pm

"Feb-yoorie" is the most common pronunciation around here. I've always spelled and pronounced the word correctly (drilled into me by a particular English teacher in school) but more and more I find myself pronouncing the word strangely so as not to seem odd. "Feb-rurrie." It's very blurred, and bugs me, but it's the instincts doing it. If possibly, I avoid saying the word at all.

Ten hours down. Six hundred eighty-six to go.

Or "hunderd" as some of my uncles call it.

Spelling the month Feb

How do u spell the month Feb? 2 votes

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