This list of words that may be spelled with a ligature in English encompasses words which have letters that may, in modern usage, either be rendered as two distinct letters or as a single, combined letter. This includes AE being rendered as Æ and OE being rendered as Œ. Note that when a c is before a ligature, it makes the sound /s/ rather than /k/ as might be expected (because c makes the sound /k/ before an a or o in English).
The use of the œ and æ is obsolete in modern English, and was historically used predominantly in British English. It is now usually used for the names of historical persons (mainly Anglo-Saxon), to evoke archaism, or in literal quotations of historic sources. It may also be used for modern Scandinavian names which include æ in their language of origin.
The fl and fi ligatures, among others, are still commonly used to render modern text in fine typography. Programs such as QuarkXPress and Adobe InDesign can be configured to automatically replace the individual characters with the appropriate ligatures. However this is a typographic feature and not part of the spelling.
- This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Read more about List Of Words That May Be Spelled With A Ligature: Æ, Œ
Famous quotes containing the words list of, list, words and/or spelled:
“Religious literature has eminent examples, and if we run over our private list of poets, critics, philanthropists and philosophers, we shall find them infected with this dropsy and elephantiasis, which we ought to have tapped.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“A man’s interest in a single bluebird is worth more than a complete but dry list of the fauna and flora of a town.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“I wish I had a man and not a dishrag printed over with big words like ‘constitutional rights’ and ‘progress’!”
—Christina Stead (1902–1983)
“Freedom of enterprise was from the beginning not altogether a blessing. As the liberty to work or to starve, it spelled toil, insecurity, and fear for the vast majority of the population. If the individual were no longer compelled to prove himself on the market, as a free economic subject, the disappearance of this freedom would be one of the greatest achievements of civilization.”
—Herbert Marcuse (1898–1979)