Dietitian - Dietitian Vs. Dietician Spelling

Dietitian Vs. Dietician Spelling

The correct or preferable spelling of dietitian has been a long-standing matter for the profession of dietetics. In the early 1960s dietetic associations, under the auspices of the International Committee of Dietetic Associations (ICDA), worked together to standardize information about dietitians under the International Standard Classification of Occupations. When the International Labour Office confirmed the dietetic profession’s classification in 1967, it also adopted the spelling “dietitian” at the request of the international dietetic community. This information can be found in the documentation held by ICDA and by the International Labour Office (ILO).

Spelling of dietitian with a “c” does not pre-date spelling as ‘dietitian’ which first appeared in print in 1846. The variant spelling "dietician" is found in print in a 1917 issue of Nation and in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1906. The origin is an evolution of physician specializing in diet – dietician. Merriam-Webster has a letter from a professional editor dated May 5, 1923, in which it is stated that "I never find any other spelling of this word than c-spelling. Hospitals and nurses invariably write it 'dietician’.” This statement is supported by a review of early published literature. Merriam-Webster has gone on to say to us that, “Admittedly, today's members of the professional community of dietitians do read "dietician” as a misspelling, and one would be hard-pressed to find an example of that spelling in publications put out by that community.”