| Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993. |
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| ye 2 (art.) |
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Ye, as in Ye Olde Coffee Shoppe, is a misspelled spelling pronunciation. In late Middle English book hands (the handwriting used by professional scribes), the was usually spelled with the thorn: ( ), one of the letters later represented by th; the letter y looked much the same. So e Olde Inne on ancient signs came to be misread by the nineteenth- and twentieth-century uninitiated as Ye Olde Inne, rather than The Olde Inne. Never underestimate the staying power of folk etymology and other ignorant errors. | 1 |
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| | | The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Copyright © 1993 Columbia University Press. |
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