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Re: Is it Killie or Killi or Killy or...
The accepted spellings are killifish, when using the full word, and killie, when using the abbreviated form. In some of the very early JAKAs and Killie Notes this was debated, but the resolution was to use the forms as stated above.
Barry
>There seem to be several ways to shorten the word "killifish." The question
>is: Is there a correct spelling for this word in the English language? I
>have seen "killie," "killi," and even "killy."
>
>The only dictionary reference that I have found was through dictionary.com.
>It cited the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth
>Edition, copyright 2000. The spelling it used was "killie." We appear to
>pronounce it kil-lee.
>
>The word "killi" was not found through dictionary.com, but seems to be
>prevalent on the web among the non-English speaking Europeans, and a few
>Canadians (French-Canadians?). Maybe they pronounce it kill-E.
>
>As for "killy," virtually all of the uses of this that I could find on the
>web appear to be about Jean Claude Killy, the French skier. There appear to
>be one or two uses of this spelling in reference to killifish, but these
>were extremely rare, and, interestingly, all American. Maybe this is
>because of our tendency to familiarize names with a -y ending (i.e. Billy or
>Johnny). Or maybe someone with a little "poetic license" might find this
>distinctive way to set their website apart. Again, with no dictionary
>references, this does not appear to be a commonly accepted spelling.
>
>Can anyone add to this?
>
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--
Barry J. Cooper
Department of Biomedical Sciences Home address:
College of Veterinary Medicine 27505 Riggs Hill Rd.
Cornell University Sweet Home, OR 97386
(607)253-4273 (541)367-2568
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