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Where has the ‘er’ gone?

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ProfilePosted byOptionsPost Date

nameslessone

nameslessone Report 15 Nov 2023 12:50

I keep coming across men ( having lost their wives) being referred to as widows. Have things changed or is it just laziness?

Florence61

Florence61 Report 15 Nov 2023 12:53

Names, I think like many things in today's society, it's pure laziness!

Researching:
house/hampshire prophet/cheshire skinner/kent

AnninGlos

AnninGlos Report 15 Nov 2023 13:04

or ignorance

Researching:
Photo spring Researching Somerset, Dorset, Hampshire, Derbyshire, Staffs, Devon, Glamorganshire. Ingram, Masters, Tamblyn, Knight, Warner, Bate, Allen, Riggs, Dominey, Duffin

nameslessone

nameslessone Report 15 Nov 2023 13:07

I wonder if women who have lost their husbands ( or wives) will soon be referred to as wids ;-)

ArgyllGran

ArgyllGran Report 15 Nov 2023 19:08

Another "er" often missing is the one at the end of "drawer".

Lots of people write "draw" instead.

I think this is probably due to the sound of the word in some English accents which omit the R at the end of a word.

It's not only 19th century census enumerators who are guilty of spelling things they way they sound!

Researching:
Old genealogists never die.....they just lose their census.

agingrocker

agingrocker Report 15 Nov 2023 19:12

It's probably due to political correctness in the case of widower no longer being a word. Like actresses are now called actors.

Denburybob

Denburybob Report 16 Nov 2023 17:40

The "er" is feminine, as in "er indoors"