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Usenet Posted 23 years ago
Usage

Aluminium?

Is 'aluminium' a BrE word like 'honour', 'colour' etc?
  

Top answer

[/nq] Yes, and unlike the others you mentioned, it is not used in Canada. There is a claim that "aluminium" is more consistent with the names of other elements ending in "ium", but then what about "platinum"? com

  • [/nq] Yes, and unlike the others you mentioned, it is not used in Canada.
  • There is a claim that "aluminium" is more consistent with the names of other elements ending in "ium", but then what about "platinum"?
  • com
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12 Answers
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[nq:1]Is 'aluminium' a BrE word like 'honour', 'colour' etc?[/nq]
Yes, and unlike the others you mentioned, it is not used in Canada.

There is a claim that "aluminium" is more consistent with the names of other elements ending in "ium", but then what about "platinum"?

Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward" (Email Removed) I
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[nq:1]Is 'aluminium' a BrE word like 'honour', 'colour' etc?[/nq]
Yes. See Evan Morris, *The Word Detective,* at
http://www.word-detective.com/042702.html#aluminium
Sir Humphry Davy, the metal's discoverer, first named it "alumium," then renamed it "aluminum," then was persuaded to rename i
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[nq:1]Is 'aluminium' a BrE word like 'honour', 'colour' etc?[/nq]
Yes, except that it is not just a matter of spelling; there is a striking difference in pronunciation, the stress being on the extra syllable. As Britishisms go, therefore, it is perhaps more analogous to "whilst".

Joe Fineman (Email Removed)
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[nq:1]Sir Humphry Davy, the metal's discoverer, first named it "alumium," then renamed it "aluminum," then was persuaded to rename it ... in America and remains so. As Evan Morris points out, "'Aluminium,' however, is the official spellingused by international chemical societies."[/nq]
Exchange between posh lady to tradesman:
"Are you copper-bottoming it my man?"
"No, I'm aluminiuming
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[nq:2]Is 'aluminium' a BrE word like 'honour', 'colour' etc?[/nq]
[nq:1]Yes, and unlike the others you mentioned, it is not used in Canada. There is a claim that "aluminium" is more consistent with the names of other elements ending in "ium", but then what about "platinum"?[/nq]
There were those who thought that 'ium' was the preferred root (from sodium, magnesium etc) but another school t
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[nq:2]Is 'aluminium' a BrE word like 'honour', 'colour' etc?[/nq]
[nq:1]Yes. See Evan Morris, *The Word Detective,* at http://www.word-detective.com/042702.html#aluminium Sir Humphry Davy, the metal's discoverer, first named it "alumium," then ... America and remains so. As Evan Morris points out,
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[nq:2]Is 'aluminium' a BrE word like 'honour', 'colour' etc?[/nq]
[nq:1]Yes, and unlike the others you mentioned, it is not used in Canada.[/nq]
Is "Aluminium Limited" an exception to your generalization?

Michael West
Melbourne, Australia
(In the shadow of the You-Yangs)
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[nq:2]Yes, and unlike the others you mentioned, it is not used in Canada.[/nq]
[nq:1]Is "Aluminium Limited" an exception to your generalization?[/nq]
It would appear to be. Here's a sort of cite, which will have to do until I can give a more direct cite from a Canadian English Dictionary (I know the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis has one put out by the Oxford University Press):
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[nq:2]Is 'aluminium' a BrE word like 'honour', 'colour' etc?[/nq]
[nq:1]Yes. See Evan Morris, *The Word Detective,* at http://www.word-detective.com/042702.html#aluminium Sir Humphry Davy, the metal's discoverer, first named it "alumium," then ... America and remains so. As Evan Morris points out,
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[nq:2]Is 'aluminium' a BrE word like 'honour', 'colour' etc?[/nq]
[nq:1]Yes, except that it is not just a matter of spelling; there is a striking difference in pronunciation, the stress being on the extra syllable. As Britishisms go, therefore, it is perhaps more analogous to "whilst".[/nq]
It is further complicated by the presence of 'aluminum' for Aluminium Oxide (Al2O3), although the Ca

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