On the other hand, it might be a temporarily hyphenated compound. If you can’t find a word in your go-to dictionary, perhaps you spelled it wrong. Keep the file open on your computer for easy access. If you find yourself looking up the same words for yourself or your clients, include those words on your style sheet. If you’re in doubt, pull out that dictionary.Ĭonsider creating a general style sheet or spelling list not related to any particular book or project.
Editors, don’t assume that writers have had the opportunity to look up every word. Writers, don’t count on your editor to look up every word, especially if your subject matter is unusual or if you make up a lot of words. And that’s advice for both writers and editors. If you have any doubt about the spelling of a compound, look it up. It changed from an open compound- Web site-to its current closed form.
Another fast-changing compound was website. For example, email moved very quickly from a hyphenated compound- e-mail-to the current closed form. While spelling changes usually take time, some words do change quickly, typically as a function of their use. Words may begin as open compounds and over time evolve into hyphenated compounds and then to closed compounds. There are compounds nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs. Words that are always hyphenated would be found in a dictionary.Ī compound word is simply two or more words joined to create a new word with a meaning different from any of the individual words. So just because you don’t find the hyphenated word in a dictionary, that doesn’t mean that you don’t hyphenate it. The problem here is that hyphenated words can be temporary spellings, hyphenated for the needs of a moment but not for every use. While it’s easy to determine whether closed and open compounds are spelled correctly-simply look them up in a current dictionary-the task is a bit harder when you’re faced with hyphenated compounds. The right spellings can make manuscripts look good and help convey the correct meanings of our phrases.Ĭompound words can be open (separate words with spaces between them), closed (a single word, no spaces or hyphens), or hyphenated. The spelling of compound words is one of those not-so-sexy but majorly useful topics that writers should have a handle on.
Augby Fiction Editor Beth Hill last modified August 15, 2015
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