Date: Sun, 10 Sep 1995 11:25:56 -0500

From: "Dennis R. Preston" preston[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]PILOT.MSU.EDU

Subject: Re: contempt vs. content



The information Wales wants on 'comptroller' is in Pyles (The Origins and

Development of the English Language), p. 72.



'Comptroller' is a pseudolearned respelling of 'controller,' taken by

English from Old French. The fancy spelling is doubtless due to an

erroneous association with French 'compte' "count." The word has fairly

recently acquired a new pronunciation based on the misspelling.



Dennis Preston

preston[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]pilot.msu.edu