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RULES FOR COMPOSITORS
AND READERS
At the University Press, Oxford

BY

HORACE HART, M.A.

PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

THE ENGLISH SPELLINGS REVISED BY

SIR JAMES A. H. MURRAY, M.A., D.C.L., LL.D., D.Litt.

AND

HENRY BRADLEY, M.A., Ph.D.

EDITORS OF THE OXFORD DICTIONARY

TWENTY-SECOND EDITION

(THE EIGHTH FOR PUBLICATION)

LONDON

HENRY FROWDE, AMEN CORNER, E.C.

OXFORD: 116 HIGH STREET

1912

These Rules apply generally, and they are only to be departed from when the written instructions which accompany copy for a new book contain an express direction that they are not to be followed in certain specified cases.

First Edition, April 1893. Reprinted, Dec. 1894.
Reprinted with alterations—
Jan. 1895; Feb. 1895; Jan. 1896; July 1897;
Sept. 1898; April 1899; Aug. 1899; Jan. 1901;
Feb. 1901; Jan. 1902; March 1902; May 1903.
Fifteenth Edition, revised and enlarged
the first for publication March 1904.
Sixteenth Edition, April 1904.
Seventeenth Edition, April 1904.
Eighteenth Edition, revised and enlarged July 1904.
Nineteenth Edition, July 1905.
Twentieth Edition, July 1907.
Twenty-first Edition, January 1909.
Twenty-second Edition, January 1912.

PREFACE

It is quite clearly set out on the title-page in previous editions of these Rules and Examples, that they were intended especially for Compositors and Readers at the Clarendon Press. Consequently it seems necessary to explain why an edition or impression is now offered to so much of the General Public as is interested in the technicalities of Typography, or wishes to be guided to a choice amidst alternative spellings.

On the production of the First Edition at the Oxford Press, copies were placed at the disposal of all Readers, Compositors, and Compositor-apprentices; and other copies found their way into the possession of Authors and Editors of books then in the printers’ hands. Subsequently, friends of authors, and readers and compositors in other printing-offices, began to ask for copies, which were always supplied without charge. By and by applications for copies were received from persons who had no absolute claim to be supplied gratuitously; but as many of such requests came from Officials of the King’s Government at Home, in the Colonies, and in India, it was thought advisable, on the whole, to continue the practice of presentation.

Recently, however, it became known that copies of the booklet were on sale in London. A correspondent wrote that he had just bought a copy ‘at the Stores’; and as it seems more than complaisant to provide gratuitously what may afterwards be sold for profit, there is no alternative but to publish this little book.

As to the origin and progress of the work, it was begun in 1864, when the compiler was a member of the London Association of Correctors of the Press. With the assistance of a small band of fellow members employed in the same printing-office as himself, a first list of examples was drawn up, to furnish a working basis.

Fate so ordained that, in course of years, the writer became in succession general manager of three London printing-houses. In each of these institutions additions were made to his selected list of words, which, in this way, gradually expanded—embodying what compositors term ‘the Rule of the House’.

In 1883, as Controller of the Oxford Press, the compiler began afresh the work of adaptation; but pressure of other duties deferred its completion nearly ten years, for the first edition is dated 1893. Even at that date the book lacked the seal of final approval, being only part of a system of printing-office management.

In due course, Sir J. A. H. Murray and Dr. Henry Bradley, editors of the Oxford Dictionary, were kind enough to revise and approve all the English spellings. Bearing the stamp of their sanction, the booklet has an authority which it could not otherwise have claimed.

To later editions Professor Robinson Ellis and Mr. H. Stuart Jones contributed two appendices, containing instructions for the Division of Words in Latin and Greek; and the section on the German Language was revised by Dr. Karl Breul, Reader in Germanic in the University of Cambridge.

The present issue is characterized by many additions and some rearrangement. The compiler has encouraged the proofreaders of the University Press from time to time to keep memoranda of troublesome words in frequent—or indeed in occasional—use, not recorded in previous issues of the ‘Rules’, and to make notes of the mode of printing them which is decided on. As each edition of the book becomes exhausted such words are reconsidered, and their approved form finally incorporated into the pages of the forthcoming edition. The same remark applies to new words which appear unexpectedly, like new planets, and take their place in what Sir James Murray calls the ‘World of Words’. Such instances as air-man, sabotage, stepney-wheel, will occur to every newspaper reader.

Lastly, it ought to be added that in one or two cases, a particular way of spelling a word or punctuating a sentence has been changed. This does not generally mean that an error has been discovered in the ‘Rules’; but rather that the fashion has altered, and that it is necessary to guide the compositor accordingly.

H. H.

January 1912.

CONTENTS

RULES FOR SETTING UP
ENGLISH WORKS[1]

SOME WORDS ENDING IN -ABLE

Words ending in silent e generally lose the e when -able is added, as—

adorable
arguable
desirable

excusable
indispensable
leisurable

But this rule is open to exceptions upon which authorities are not agreed. The following spellings are in The Oxford Dictionary, and must be followed:

advisable
analysable
ascribable
atonable
baptizable
believable
blameable
bribable
chaseable
confinable
conversable
creatable
datable
debatable

defamable
definable
delineable
dilatable
dissolvable
drivable
endorsable
evadable
excisable
exercisable
finable
forgivable
framable
giveable

hireable
immovable
improvable
indispensable
inflatable
irreconcilable
lapsable
likeable
linable
liveable
losable
lovable
malleable
movable
nameable

overcomable
palatable
partakable
pleasable
provable
rateable
rebukeable
receivable
reconcilable
removable
saleable
solvable
tameable
tuneable
unmistakable

If -able is preceded by ce or ge, the e should be retained, to preserve the soft sound of c or g, as—

bridgeable
changeable
chargeable
knowledgeable
lodgeable

manageable
noticeable
peaceable
pledgeable
serviceable

Words ending in double ee retain both letters, as—agreeable.

In words of English formation, a final consonant is usually doubled before -able, as—

admittable
biddable
clubbable
conferrable
deferrable

forgettable
gettable
incurrable
rebuttable
regrettable[2]

FOOTNOTES:

[1] At Oxford especially, it must always be remembered that the Bible has a spelling of its own; and that in Bible and Prayer Book printing the Oxford standards are to be exactly followed.—H. H.

[2] For an authoritative statement on the whole subject see The Oxford Dictionary, Vol. I, p. 910, art. -ble.

SOME WORDS ENDING IN -IBLE

The principle underlying the difference between words ending in -able and those ending in -ible is thus stated by The Oxford English Dictionary (s.v. -ble): ‘In English there is a prevalent feeling for retaining -ible wherever there was or might be a Latin -ibilis, while -able is used for words of distinctly French or English origin.’ The following are examples of words ending in -ible:

accessible
addible
adducible
admissible
audible
avertible
collapsible
comprehensible
controvertible
credible
discernible
discerpible
edible
eligible
existible
expressible
extendible
feasible
fencible
flexible
forcible
incomprehensible
incorruptible

incredible
indefeasible
indefensible
indelible
indestructible
indigestible
intangible
intelligible
irresistible
legible
negligible
ostensible
permissible
persuasible
plausible
producible
reducible
remissible
reprehensible
reversible
tangible
vendible
visible

SOME WORDS ENDING IN -ISE or -IZE

The following spellings are those adopted for The Oxford Dictionary:

actualize
advertise
advise
affranchise
aggrandize
agonize
alcoholize
alkalize
anathematize
anatomize
anglicize
apologize
apostrophize
apprise (to inform)
apprize (to appraise)
authorize
baptize
brutalize
canonize
capitalize
capsize
carbonize
catechize
categorize
catholicize
cauterize
centralize
characterize
chastise
christianize
cicatrize

circumcise
civilize
collodionize
colonize
communize
comprise
compromise
contrariwise
conventionalize
corporealize
criticize
crystallize
demise
demoralize
deodorize
desilverize
despise
devise
discolorize
disfranchise
disguise
disorganize
dogmatize
dualize
economize
emphasize
emprise
enfranchise
enterprise
epigrammatize
epitomize

equalize
eternize
etherealize
etymologize
eulogize
euphonize
evangelize
excise
exercise
exorcize
experimentalize
extemporize
familiarize
feminize
fertilize
formalize
fossilize
franchise
fraternize
gallicize
galvanize
generalize
germanize
gormandize
gothicize
graecize
harmonize
hebraize
hellenize
hibernize
humanize
hydrogenize
hypnotize
idealize
idolize
immortalize
improvise
incise

italicize
jacobinize
japanize
jeopardize
kyanize
laicize
latinize
legalize
legitimatize
liberalize
localize
macadamize
magnetize
mainprize
manumise
materialize
memorialize
memorize
merchandise
mesmerize
methodize
minimize
misadvise
mobilize
modernize
monetize
monopolize
moralize
nasalize
nationalize
naturalize
neutralize
neologize
normalize
organize
ostracize
oxidize
ozonize

paganize
particularize
patronize
pauperize
penalize
philosophize
plagiarize
pluralize
polarize
popularize
premise
prise up (to)
prize (a)
pulverize
rationalize
realize
recognize
reorganize
reprise
revolutionize
rhapsodize
romanize
satirize
scandalize
scrutinize
secularize
seise (in law)
seize (to grasp)
sensitize
signalize
silverize

solemnize
soliloquize
specialize
spiritualize
sterilize
stigmatize
subsidize
summarize
supervise
surmise
surprise
syllogize
symbolize
sympathize
syndicalize
synthesize
systematize
tantalize
temporize
terrorize
theorize
tranquillize
tyrannize
utilize
ventriloquize
victimize
villanize
visualize
vitalize
vocalize
vulgarize

SOME ALTERNATIVE OR DIFFICULT SPELLINGS

MORE OR LESS IN DAILY USE, ARRANGED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER FOR EASY REFERENCE

abetter
abettor (law)
accepter (-or in law)
adaptable
adapter
addorsed
adjutants-general[3] pl.
adjudgement
admonitor
aerate
aerial
aerie
aeronaut
aeroplane
aetiological, -logist
aetiology
ageing
aides-de-camp[{3}] pl.
aline, -ment[4]
allineation
almanac[5]

ambidexterity
analyse
aneurysm
ankle
apanage
apophthegm
apostasy
apparelled
archetype
archidiaconal
arcking[6]
armful
artisan
ascendancy, -ant
assessable
aught (anything)
automobile
aweing
awesome
axe[7]
ay (always)

aye (yes—‘the ayes have it’)
bandoleer
banns
banyan
Barbadoes
bark (ship)
basin
basses (pl.)
battalion
befall
beldam
bethrall
blouse
bluish
bodice
bogie (a truck)
bogy (apparition)
bothy
brand-new
brier
brooch (ornament)
browse
bryony
bulrush
buncombe
by and by
by-election
by-lane
by-law
byname
bypath
by-play

by-plot
by-product
by-street
by the by
by-way
byword
caddis
calendar
calligraphy
calliper
caltrop
camlet
camomile
canst
canvas (cloth)
canvass (political)
carcass
carriable
cartography
catarrhine
cat’s-paw
cauldron (a vessel)
caulk
celluloid
censer (a vessel)
censor (an official)
centigram
centipede
chaldron (measure)
chalet
chant
chaperon

cheque (on a bank)
chequered (career)
chestnut
chillness
chock-full
choroid
cider
cipher
clangor
clarinet
clench (fists)
clerestory
clinch (argument)
clinometer
cloak (not cloke)
clue (but clew for part of a sail)
coalesce
coco-nut
cognizance
colander
coloration
colourist
commonplace
confidante (fem.)
conjurer
conjuror (law)
connexion
connivence
conscience’ sake
consensus
contemporary
conterminous
contestor
cony

copier
corrupter
corslet
corvette
cosy
cotillion
cottar
couldst
couldn’t
coulter
courts martial (pl.)
cousins-german (pl.)
craftsman
crenellate
crosier
curtsy
cyst
debarkation
debonair
decrepit
deflexion
demeanour
dependant (noun)
dependence
dependent (adj.)
desiccate
detector
develop, -ment
devest (law)
dexterously
diaeresis[8]
dialyse
dike
dinghy
discoloration

discolour
disk
dispatch (not despatch)
distension
distil
disyllable
doggerel
doily
Domesday Book
dote
draft (prepare)
draftsman (one who drafts documents)
draught-board
draughtsman (one who makes drawings)
draughtsmen (in game of draughts)
dryly
dullness
duress
dyeing (cloth)
ecstasy
eloin, -ment
embargo
embarkation
embassage
embed
embroil
empanel
encase
enclasp
enclose

encrust
endorse
enroll
enrolment
ensconce
ensure (make safe)
enthral
entreat
entrench, -ment
entrust
envelop (verb)
envelope (noun)
erector
ethereal
exorrhizal
expense
faecal
faeces
faggot
fantasy
favour
feldspar
fetid
filigree
finicking
fledgeling
fleurs-de-lis (pl.)
floatage
floatation
fluky
flyer
foetal
foetus

fogy, pl. -ies
forbade
foregone (gone before)
foretell
forgather
forgo[9]
forme (printer’s)
fount (of type)
frenzy
frowzy
fuchsia
fulfil
fullness
fusilier
fusillade
gage (a pledge)
gaily
gauge (a measure)
genuflexion
gewgaw
gibe
gillie
gimlet
gipsy
goodness’ sake
gourmand
gramme
grammetre

gramophone
grandam
granddaughter
granter (one who grants)
grantor (in law: one who makes a grant)
grey
grisly (terrible)
grizzly (grey)
grizzly bear
gruesome
guerrilla
gullible
hadst
haematite
haematology
haemorrhage
haemorrhoids
ha! ha! (laughter)
ha-ha (a fence)
hairbreadth
halberd
hallo
handful
handiwork
hare-brained

hauler
haulm
havoc
hearken
hectogram
hectolitre
hectometre
he’ll (no space)
honour
horehound
hornblende
horsy
humorist
humorous
humour, -less
hyena
hypotenuse
icing
I’d, I’ll (no space)
idiosyncrasy
idolater
impermeable
inferable
inflexion
innocuous
inoculate
inquire, -quiry[10]
install
instalment
instil
insure (in a society)
Inverness-shire, &c.
inweave
ipecacuanha
jail

jam, v. (not jamb)
jamb (noun)
janizary
jewellery
jews’ harp and
jews’ harps
judgeship
jugful
kilogram
kilogrammetre
kilolitre
kilometre
kilowatt
kinematograph
kleptomania
knick-knack
lachrymal
lachrymose
lackey
lacquer
lamb’s-wool
lantern
largess
lateish
latten
laverock
leaf-mould
lettuce
licence (noun)
license (verb)
licensee
lich-gate
lineament
Linnaean[11]
linsey-woolsey

liny
liquefy
liquorice
litre
loadstone
loath (adj.)
loathe (verb)
lodestar
lour (frown)
macintosh
maelstrom
maharaja
mamma
mandolin
manikin
manyplies
marquess
mattress
mayst
mediaeval
men-of-war[12] (pl.)
metamorphose
mightst
mileage
millennium
millepede
milligram
millimetre
miscall
misdemeanour
misspelling
mistletoe
mizen, -mast
moccasin
Mohammedan

mollusc
moneyed
moneys
mould, -ing (v. & n.)
naught (nothing)
negotiate
net (profits)
newsvendor
novitiate
nursling
octet
omelet
oneself
orangeade
orgy
osculatory
osier
ought (cipher)
ouzel
overalls
oyez!
ozone
pannikin
parakeet
parallelepiped
paralyse
parsnip
parti-coloured
partisan
party-wall
pasha
pastille
paten
pavilion
paviour

pedagogy
pedlar
peewit
pendant
peony
petrify
picnicking
plaguy
pomace
poniard
portray
postilion
posy
pot (size of paper)
potato, pl. -es
practice (noun)
practise (verb)
prehistoric
premises (no sing., conveyancing)
premiss, premisses (logic)
primaeval
printer’s error, but printers’ errors[13]
programme
proletariate
prophecy (noun)
prophesy (verb)

pundit
pupilage
putrefy
pyjamas
quartet
quinine
quinsy
quintet
racket (bat)
rackets (game)
racoon
radical (chemistry)
radicle (botany)
radium (small r)
ragi (grain)
raja
rarefaction
rarefy
rase (to erase)
raze (to the ground)
react
rearward
recall
recompense (v. & n.)
recompose
referable
refill
reflection[14]
rhyme (verse)[15]

ribbon
rigorous
rigors (in med.)
rigour
rime (hoar-frost)
rodomontade
rout (verb)
secrecy
sergeant (military)
serjeant (law)
Shakespeare[16]
Shakespearian, -iana
she’ll (no space)
shouldst
show (v. & n.)
shrillness
sibyl
sibylline
siliceous
singeing
siphon
siren
skilful
skilless
slyly
sons-in-law (pl.)
spadeful

sphinx
sponge
spoonful
stanch
stationary (standing still)
stationery (paper)
steadfast
stillness
story (of a house)
stupefy
suggester
swingeing (blow)
sycamore[17]
sylvan
syndicalism
synonymous
syrup
tallness[18]
tease
tenor
thyme (herb)
tire (of a wheel)[19]
tiro
toboggan, -ing
toilet
tranquillity

transcendent
transferable
tranship, -ment
transplendent
trousers
Tuileries
tumour
unmistakably
vender (as generally used)
vendor (in law)
vermilion
villany

visor
wabble
wagon
weasand
we’ll (no space)
whilom
whisky
whitish
wilful
woe, woful
wooed, woos
wouldst
zoogloea

FOOTNOTES:

[3] Compound words of this class form their plurals by a change in the first word.—H. H.

[4] ‘The Eng. form alinement is preferable to alignment, a bad spelling of the French.’—O.E.D.

[5] But the k is retained in The Oxford Almanack, following the first publication in 1674.—H. H.

[6] ‘In derivatives formed from words ending in c, by adding a termination beginning with e, i, or y, the letter k is inserted after the c, in order that the latter may not be inaccurately pronounced like s before the following vowel.’—Webster.

[7] In The Oxford Dictionary, Vol. I, p. 598, Sir James Murray says, ‘The spelling ax is better on every ground ... than axe, which has of late become prevalent.’ (But as authors generally still call for the commoner spelling, compositors must follow it.—H. H.)

[8] The sign [¨] sometimes placed over the second of two vowels in an English word to indicate that they are to be pronounced separately, is so called by a compositor. By the way, this sign is now used only for learned or foreign words; not in chaos or in dais, for instance. Naïve and naïveté still require it, however (see [pp. 35], [37]).—H. H.

[9] In 1896, Mr. W. E. Gladstone, not being aware of this rule, wished to include, in a list of errata for insertion in Vol. II of Butler’s Works, an alteration of the spelling, in Vol. I, of the word ‘forgo’. On receipt of his direction to make the alteration, I sent Mr. Gladstone a copy of Skeat’s Dictionary to show that ‘forgo’, in the sense in which he was using the word, was right, and could not be corrected; but it was only after reference to Sir James Murray that Mr. Gladstone wrote to me, ‘Personally I am inclined to prefer forego, on its merits; but authority must carry the day. I give in.’—H. H.

[10] ‘This is now usual. See O.E.D., s.v. Enq-.’—J. A. H. M.

[11] But Linnean Society.

[12] Compound words formed of two nouns connected by a preposition form their plurals by a change in the first word.—H. H.

[13] Sir James Murray thinks that where there is any ambiguity a hyphen may also be used, as ‘bad printers’-errors,’—H. H.

[14] ‘Etymology is in favour of reflexion, but usage seems to be overpoweringly in favour of the other spelling.’—H. B.

[15] The older form ‘rime’ is occasionally used by modern writers, and in such cases the copy should be followed.—H. H.

[16] ‘Shakspere is preferable, as—The New Shakspere Society.’—J. A. H. M. (But the Clarendon Press is already committed to the more extended spelling.—H. H.)

[17] The ‘sycomore’ of the Bible is a different tree—the fig-mulberry.—H. H.

[18] It is generally agreed that words ending in ll should drop one l before less (as in skilless) and ly; but there is not the same agreement in dropping an l before ness.—H. H.

[19] ‘But the bicycle-makers have apparently adopted the non-etymological tyre.’—J. A. H. M.

SOME WORDS ENDING IN -MENT

In words ending in -ment print the e when it occurs in the preceding syllable, as—abridgement, acknowledgement, judgement, lodgement.[20] But omit the e in development, envelopment, in accordance with the spelling of the verbal forms develop, envelop.

FOOTNOTES:

[20] ‘I protest against the unscholarly habit of omitting it from “abridgement”, “acknowledgement”, “judgement”, “lodgement”,—which is against all analogy, etymology, and orthoepy, since elsewhere g is hard in English when not followed by e or i. I think the University Press ought to set a scholarly example, instead of following the ignorant to do ill, for the sake of saving four e’s. The word “judgement” has been spelt in the Revised Version correctly.’—J. A. H. M.

HYPHENED AND
NON-HYPHENED WORDS[21]

The hyphen need not, as a rule, be used to join an adverb to the adjective which it qualifies: as in—

a beautifully furnished house,
a well calculated scheme.

When the word might not at once be recognized as an adverb, use the hyphen: as—

a well-known statesman,
an ill-built house,
a new-found country,
the best-known proverb,
a good-sized room.

When an adverb qualifies a predicate, the hyphen should not be used: as—

this fact is well known.

Where either (1) a noun and adjective or participle, or (2) an adjective and a noun, in combination, are used as a compound adjective, the hyphen should be used:

a poverty-stricken family, a blood-red hand, a nineteenth-century invention.

A compound noun which has but one accent, and from familiar use has become one word, requires no hyphen. Examples:

bláckbird
býname
býword
háirbrush
háirdresser
háirpin

hándbook
hándkerchief
mántelpiece
nówadays
schóolboy
schóolgirl

seáport
téapot
tórchlight
upstáirs
wátchcase
whéelbarrow

The following should also be printed as one word:

aglow
anybody
anyhow
anything
anywhere
bedroom
childbed
coeval
coexist
coextensive
coheir
cornfield
downhill
downstairs
evermore
everyday (as adj.)

everything
everyway (adverb)
everywhere
eyewitness
fairyland
fatherland
footsore
footstep
freshwater (as adj.)
godlike
goodwill
harebell
hopscotch
horseshoe
indoor

ladylike
lambskin
lifetime
maybe
meantime
meanwhile
midday
motherland
newfangled
noonday
offprint
offsaddle
offshoot
onrush
outdoor
overleaf
oversea

percentage
reappear
reimburse
reinstate

reopen
seaweed
selfsame
uphill

wellnigh
widespread
wrongdoing
zigzag

Compound words of more than one accent, as—ápple-trée, chérry-píe, grável-wálk, wíll-o’-the-wisp, as well as others which follow, require hyphens:

aide-de-camp
air-man
air-ship
a-kimbo
alms-house
arm-chair
battle-field
bird-cage
bi-weekly
by-law
by-way
child-birth
come-at-able
common-sense (as adj.)
co-adjust
co-declination
co-operate
co-ordinate
court-plaster
cousin-german
death-bed
death-rate
ding-dong
dumb-bell
ear-rings
farm-house
farm-yard

first-hand
foot-note
foot-stone
foot-stool
free-will
get-at-able
good-bye
good-day
good-humoured
good-natured
guide-book
gutta-percha
half-crown
half-dozen
half-hour
half-way
handy-man
harvest-field
head-dress
head-foremost
head-quarters
hey-day
high-flyer
hill-side
hill-top
hoar-frost
hob-a-nob

hour-glass
hymn-book
ill-fated
india-rubber
jaw-bone
key-note
knick-knack
life-like
looking-glass
man-of-war
never-ending
new-built
new-comer
new-mown
note-book
note-paper
off-hand
oft-times
one-and-twenty
one-eighth
ore-weed
out-and-out
out-of-date
out-of-door
over-glad
pre-eminent
quarter-day
race-course

re-bound[22] (as a book)
re-cover (a chair)
re-enter
re-form (form again)
rolling-pin
sea-breeze

sea-shore
second-hand
small-pox
son-in-law
starting-point
step-father
such-like
table-land
text-book

title-deeds
title-page
to-day
top-mast
topsy-turvy
up-to-date[23]
water-course
week-day
year-book

Half an inch, half a dozen, &c., require no hyphens. Print the following also without hyphens:

any one
cast iron
common sense (adj. and noun together)
court martial
dare say
easy chair

every one
fellow men
for ever
good humour
good nature
good night
head master[24]
high priest
high road

ill health
ill luck
ill nature
no one
plum pudding
post office
revenue office
some one
union jack

FOOTNOTES:

[21] See Oxford Dict., Vol. I, page xiii, art. ‘Combinations’, where Sir James Murray writes: ‘In many combinations the hyphen becomes an expression of unification of sense. When this unification and specialization has proceeded so far that we no longer analyse the combination into its elements, but take it in as a whole, as in blackberry, postman, newspaper, pronouncing it in speech with a single accent, the hyphen is usually omitted, and the fully developed compound is written as a single word. But as this also is a question of degree, there are necessarily many compounds as to which usage has not yet determined whether they are to be written with the hyphen or as single words.’

And again, in The Schoolmasters’ Year-book for 1903 Sir James Murray writes: ‘There is no rule, propriety, or consensus of usage in English for the use or absence of the hyphen, except in cases where grammar or sense is concerned; as in a day well remembered, but a well-remembered day, the sea of a deep green, a deep-green sea, a baby little expected, a little-expected baby, not a deep green sea, a little expected baby.... Avoid Headmaster, because this implies one stress, Héadmaster, and would analogically mean “master of heads”, like schoolmaster, ironmaster.... Of course the hyphen comes in at once in combinations and derivatives, as head-mastership.’

[22] ‘The hyphen is often used when a writer wishes to mark the fact that he is using not a well-known compound verb, but re- as a living prefix attached to a simple verb (re-pair = pair again); also usually before e (re-emerge), and sometimes before other vowels (re-assure, usually reassure); also when the idea of repetition is to be emphasized, especially in such phrases as make and re-make.’—The Concise Oxford Dictionary (1911), p. 694.

[23] As, up-to-date records; but print ‘the records are up to date’.—H. H.

[24] See note on [page 25].

DOUBLING CONSONANTS WITH SUFFIXES

Words of one syllable, ending with one consonant preceded by one vowel, double that consonant on adding -ed or -ing: e.g.

Words of more than one syllable, ending with one consonant preceded by one vowel, and accented on the last syllable, double that consonant on adding -ed or -ing: e.g.

But words of this class not accented on the last syllable, do not double the last consonant[25] on adding -ed, -ing: e.g.

balloted, -ing
banqueted, -ing
bayoneted, -ing
benefited, -ing
biased, -ing
billeted, -ing
bishoped, -ing
blanketed, -ing
bonneted, -ing
bracketed, -ing
buffeted, -ing

carpeted, -ing
chirruped, -ing
combated, -ing
cricketing
crocheted, -ing
crotcheted, -ing, -y
discomfited, -ing
docketed, -ing
faceted, -ing
ferreted, -ing
fidgeted, -ing, -y

filleted, -ing
filliped, -ing
focused, -ing
galloped, -ing
gibbeted, -ing
gossiped, -ing, -y
initialed, -ing
junketed, -ing
marketed, -ing
packeted, -ing
paralleled, -ing
pelleted, -ing
picketed, -ing
piloted, -ing

profited, -ing
rabbeted, -ing
rabbiting
rickety
riveted, -ing
russeted, -ing, -y
scolloped, -ing
tennising
trinketed, -ing
trousered, -ing
trumpeted, -ing
velvety
visited, -ing
wainscoted, -ing

In words ending in -l, the final consonant is generally doubled, whether accented on the last syllable or not: e.g.

annulled, -ing
appalled, -ing
apparelled, -ing
barrelled
bethralled, -ing
caballed, -ing
channelled, -ing
compelled, -ing
cudgelled, -ing
dishevelled, -ing
empanelled, -ing
extolled, -ing
forestalled, -ing
grovelled, -ing

impelled, -ing
installed, -ing
kennelled, -ing
levelled, -ing
libelled, -ing
marshalled, -ing
parcelled, -ing
quarrelled, -ing
revelled, -ing
rivalled, -ing
shovelled, -ing
trammelled, -ing
travelled, -ing
tunnelled, -ing

FOOTNOTES:

[25] ‘We must, however, still except the words ending in -el, as levelled, -er, -ing; travelled, -er, -ing; and also worshipped, -er, -ing.’—J. A. H. M.

FORMATION OF PLURALS IN WORDS OF FOREIGN ORIGIN

Plurals of nouns taken into English from other languages sometimes follow the laws of inflexion of those languages. But often, in non-technical works, additional forms are used, constructed after the English manner. Print as below, in cases where the author does not object. In scientific works the scientific method must of course prevail:

FOOTNOTES:

[26] See reference to these words for another purpose on [p. 33].—H. H.

[27] Genius, in the sense of a tutelary spirit, must of course have the plural genii.—H. H.

[28] In scholarly works, indices is often preferred, and in the mathematical sense must always be used.—H. H.

[29] But lemmata in botany or embryology.—H. H.

[30] But in a collective or special sense we must print memoranda.—H. H.

ERRATA, ERRATUM

Do not be guilty of the absurd mistake of printing ‘Errata’ as a heading for a single correction. When a list of errors has been dealt with, by printing cancel pages and otherwise, so that only one error remains, take care to alter the heading from ‘Errata’ to ‘Erratum’. The same remarks apply to Addenda and Addendum, Corrigenda and Corrigendum.

PLURALS OF NOUNS ENDING IN -O

The plurals of nouns ending in -o, owing to the absence of any settled system, are often confusing. The Concise Oxford Dictionary says (p. vi): ‘It may perhaps be laid down that on the one hand words of which the plural is very commonly used, as potato, have almost invariably -oes, and on the other hand words still felt to be foreign or of abnormal form, as soprano, chromo, have almost invariably -os.’ The following is a short list, showing spellings preferred:

altos
banjos
buffaloes
calicoes
cantos
cargoes
centos
chromos
curios
duodecimos

electros
echoes
embargoes
haloes
heroes
manifestoes
mosquitoes
mottoes
negroes
octavos

porticoes
potatoes
provisos
quartos
ratios
solos
sopranos
tiros
tomatoes
volcanoes

FOREIGN WORDS & PHRASES WHEN TO BE SET IN ROMAN AND WHEN IN ITALIC

Print the following anglicized words in roman type:

aide-de-camp
al fresco
alibi
à propos
aurora borealis
beau idéal
bézique
bizarre
bona fide
bouquet
bravos
bric-à-brac
bulletin
café
carte-de-visite
chargé d’affaires
chauffeur
chiaroscuro
cliché
connoisseur
cul-de-sac

débris
début
dépôt[31]
détour
diarrhoea
dilettante
dramatis personae
éclat
employé[32]
ennui
entrée
entrepôt
etiquette[33]
facsimile
fête
fleur-de-lis
garage
gratis
habeas corpus

hors-d’œuvre
innuendo, -es
levée
littérateur
litterati
manœuvre
menu
morale
naïve
omnibus
papier mâché
per annum
personnel
post-mortem (adj. and n.)
poste restante
précis
prestige
prima facie
procès-verbal
protégé

provenance
régime
rendezvous[34]
rôle
sabotage

savants
seraglio
sobriquet
soirée
versus

via
vice versa
virtuoso
viva voce
Zollverein

The following to be printed in italic:

ab extra
ab origine
ad nauseam
ad valorem
a fortiori
amende honorable
amour propre
ancien régime
anglice
a priori
au courant
au revoir
bête noire
billet doux
bonhomie
bon ton
bourgeoisie
carte blanche
casus belli
chef-d’œuvre
chevaux de frise
con amore
confrère
cortège[35]
coup d’état
coup de grâce

coup de main
coup d’œil
débâcle
dénouement
de quoi vivre
déshabillé
édition de luxe
élan
élite
en bloc
en masse
en passant
en rapport
en route
entente cordiale
esprit de corps
ex cathedra
ex officio (adv. and adj.)
ex parte (adv. and adj.)
facile princeps
factum est
felo de se
garçon
grand monde

habitué
hors de combat
imprimis
in camera
in propria persona
jeu d’esprit
laisser-faire
lapsus linguae
lèse-majesté
mêlée
mise en scène
modus operandi
more suo
multum in parvo
naïveté
née
nemine contradicente
ne plus ultra
noblesse oblige
nolens volens
non est
par excellence

pari passu
per contra
pièce de résistance
plébiscite
pro forma
pro tempore
raison d’être
rapprochement
réchauffé
répertoire
résumé
sang-froid
sans cérémonie
sans-culotte
sine qua non
sotto voce
sub rosa
tabula rasa
tête à tête (adv.)
tête-à-tête (noun)
tour de force
vis-à-vis

The modern practice is to omit accents from Latin words.

For further directions as to the use of italic in foreign words and phrases see [pp. 50-1].

FOOTNOTES:

[31] For this and nearly all similar words, the proper accents are to be used, whether the foreign words be anglicized or not.—H. H.

[32] Employee is more legitimate when it is used in contrast with the English word employer.—H. H.

[33] Omit the accent from étiquette.—H. H.

[34] Omit the hyphen from rendez-vous.—H. H.

[35] For a statement as to this and other French words now printed with a grave accent, see [pp. 78-9].—H. H.

SPELLINGS OF FIFTEENTH TO SEVENTEENTH CENTURY WRITERS

When it is necessary to reproduce the spellings and printed forms of old writers the following rules should be observed:

Initial u is printed v, as in vnderstande. Also in such combinations as wherevpon.

Medial v is printed u, as in haue, euer.

Initial and medial j are printed i, as in iealousie, iniurie.

In capitals the U is non-existent, and should always be printed with a V, initially and medially, as VNIVERSITY, FAVLCONRIE.

In y^e and y^t the second letter should be a superior, and without a full point.

PHONETIC SPELLINGS

Some newspapers print phonetic spellings, such as program, hight (to describe altitude), catalog, &c. But the practice has insufficient authority, and can be followed only by special direction.

A OR AN

a European
a ewe
a ewer
a herb
a herbal
a heroic
a hospital
a humble
a unanimous
a uniform
a union
a unique

a universal
a university
a useful
a usurper
an habitual[36]
an heir
an heirloom
an historical[{36}]
an honest
an honour
an hotel
an hour

Print a, not an, before contractions beginning with a consonant: e.g. a L.C.C. case, a MS. version.

FOOTNOTES:

[36] This is in accordance with what seems to be the preponderance of modern usage. Originally the cover of The Oxford Dictionary had ‘a historical’, and the whole question will be found fully treated in that work, arts. A, An, and H.—H. H.

O AND OH

When used in addressing persons or things the vocative ‘O’ is printed with a capital and without any point following it; e.g. ‘O mighty Caesar! dost thou lie so low’; ‘O world! thou wast the forest to this hart’; ‘O most bloody sight!’ Similarly, ‘O Lord’, ‘O God’, ‘O sir’. But when not used in the vocative, the spelling should be ‘Oh’, and separated from what follows by a punctuation mark; e.g. ‘Oh, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth’; ‘For if you should, oh! what would become of it?’

NOR AND OR

Print: (1) Neither one nor the other; neither Jew nor Greek; neither Peter nor James. (2) Either one or the other; either Jew or Greek; either Peter or James.

Never print: Neither one or the other; neither Peter or James;—but when the sentence is continued to a further comparison, nor and or must be printed (in the continuation) according to the sense.[37]

Likewise note that the verb should be in the singular, as ‘Neither Oxford nor Reading is stated to have been represented’.

FOOTNOTES:

[37] The necessity of giving strict attention to this rule was once exemplified in my experience, when the printing of a fine quarto was passing through my hands in 1882. The author desired to say in the preface, ‘The writer neither dares nor desires to claim for it the dignity or cumber it with the difficulty of an historical novel’ (Lorna Doone, by R. D. Blackmore, 4to, 1883). The printer’s reader inserted a letter n before the or; the author deleted the n, and thought he had got rid of it; but at the last moment the press reader inserted it again; and the word was printed as nor, to the exasperation of the author, who did not mince his words when he found out what had happened.—H. H.

VOWEL-LIGATURES[38] (Æ AND Œ)

The combinations ae and oe should each be printed as two letters in Latin and Greek words, e.g. Aeneid, Aeschylus, Caesar, Oedipus; and in English, as mediaeval, phoenix. But in Old-English and in French words use the ligatures æ, œ, as Ælfred, Cædmon, manœuvre.

CONTRACTIONS

NOTE.—Some abbreviations of Latin words such as ad loc., &c., to be set in roman, are shown on [page 51].

Names of the books of the Bible as abbreviated where necessary:

Old Testament.

Gen.
Exod.
Lev.
Num.
Deut.
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Sam.
2 Sam.

1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chron.
2 Chron.
Ezra
Neh.
Esther
Job
Ps.
Prov.

Eccles.
Song of Sol.
Isa.
Jer.
Lam.
Ezek.
Dan.
Hos.
Joel

Amos
Obad.
Jonah
Mic.
Nahum
Hab.
Zeph.
Hag.
Zech.
Mal.

New Testament.

Matt.
Mark
Luke
John
Acts
Rom.
1 Cor.

2 Cor.
Gal.
Eph.
Phil.
Col.
1 Thess.
2 Thess.

1 Tim.
2 Tim.
Titus
Philem.
Heb.
Jas.

1 Pet.
2 Pet.
1 John
2 John
3 John
Jude
Rev.

Apocrypha.

1 Esdras
2 Esdras
Tobit
Judith
Rest of Esth.

Wisd. of Sol.
Ecclus.
Baruch
Song of Three Childr.

Susanna
Bel and Dragon
Pr. of Manasses
1 Macc.
2 Macc.

Abbreviate the names of the months:

Where the name of a county is abbreviated, as Yorks., Cambs., Berks., Oxon., use a full point; but print Hants (no full point) because it is not a modern abbreviation.

4to, 8vo, 12mo,[39] &c. (sizes of books), are symbols, and should have no full point. A parallel case is that of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and so on, which also need no full points.

Print lb. for both sing. and pl.; not lbs. Also omit the plural -s in the following: cm., cwt., dwt., gr., grm., in., min., mm., oz.

When beginning a footnote, the abbreviations e.g., i.e., p. or pp., and so on, to be all in lower-case.

Use ETC. in a cap. line and ETC. in a small cap. line where an ampersand (&) will not range. Otherwise print &c.; and Longmans, Green & Co.; with no comma before ampersand in the name of a firm.