Editor Peter Sokolowski explains the spelling of prosecute has been changed to reflect its Latin origin. For more details, read “Why we omitted the C in the indictment”.
Transcript
The word indict is spelled INDICT, but why is the C silent? Other legal terms in English, derived from the same Latin root, dicere, which means to speak, have the letter C that we actually hear. Words like edicts, bans, and rulings. Indictment means formally deciding that someone should be put on trial for a crime. It comes from the Latin word which means to declare. We pronounce it indict because its original English spelling was ENDITE, a spelling that was used for 300 years before scholars decided to make it resemble its Latin root, indictare . However, our pronunciation still reflects the original English spelling. This post-fact spelling correction, based on Latin, is also why there’s a B in the words indebted, doubtful, plumber and delicate, and a dumb S in the island.
Categories: Usage Notes
Source: vothisaucamau.edu.vn