Mold vs. Mould vs. Mowld

[oksmle]

I told my favorite sixth grade English teacher (also my walking buddy) of our ongoing discussion concerning the correct spelling of the word mold vs. mould, pertaining to the casting of boolits, & the suggestion someone on our site made of simply changing the spelling to "mowld." Rather than entering into the discussion herself she said if we could "bastardize" the word bullet into "boolit" then we should feel perfectly comfortable with "mowld." She also wondered how many of us actually passed the sixth grade....

oksmle

[45 2.1]

Please ask her how new words came into the English language.

[SharpsShooter]

Mold, also spelled Mould, in manufacturing, a cavity or matrix in which a fluid or plastic substance is shaped into a desired finished product. A molten substance, such as metal, or a plastic substance is poured or forced into a mold and allowed to harden. Molds are made of a wide variety of materials, depending on the application; sand is frequently used for metal casting, hardened steel.

I've seen it spelled both ways and it is correct in either manner.

:coffee:

[BruceB]

Well, taking it directly "from the horse's mouth", as it were, Lyman's older cardboard boxes stated that they contained "Bullet MOULDS", and that's good enuff fer me.

Having come here from a land full of surplus "U's", this is the one example of a word where I think the "U" is not superfluous. (In Canada, they have "good humour", "neighbours", "rumours" and "tumours" etc etc etc....ad infinitum. I have kicked those habits, and now them woids look very strange to my eye.)

If searching Ebay for moulds, you'd best search with BOTH spellings (mold and mould) or you'll miss a lot of goodies.

[keeper89]

You mean there's grades higher than the fifth?:-D

[montana_charlie]

My favorite online dictionary, Merriam-Webster (m-w.com) says...

Main Entry: mold
Pronunciation: 'mOld
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English molde; akin to Old High German molta soil, Latin molere to grind -- more at MEAL
1 : crumbling soft friable earth suited to plant growth : SOIL; especially : soil rich in humus -- compare LEAF MOLD
2 dialect British a : the surface of the earth : GROUND b : the earth of the burying ground
3 archaic : earth that is the substance of the human body <be merciful great Duke to men of mold -- Shakespeare>

There is no mention at all of that 'thing' we do.

And I DID pass sixth grade...every day on my way to fifth grade.
I kept doing that until the Army was about to draft me...then I enlisted.
CM

[SharpsShooter]

You mean there's grades higher than the fifth?:-D


Yeah, but I missed 6th grade gragitatshun cause I wus on jury duty thet day.:mrgreen:

[waksupi]

Ahhhh, fifth grade. Those were the best four years of my life....

[NVcurmudgeon]

If either "mould" or "mold" is acceptable according to dictionaries, I then go to a higher authority. Elmer Keith spelled it "mould" in Sixguns and that's good enough for me.

[Murphy]

Oksmle,

Do inform this poor (pour?) 'City Gal'...that in Moore, the word BOOLIT may seem bastardized, but it's perfectly acceptable down in Idabel.

Furthermore, we know nothing of 'virgin wool'. Wills seems to be the only person on this board who can locate it if it truly exists.

Murphy

[carpetman]

Murphy---In Texas where Wills lives about all you find is virgin wool. Now up in Waksupi country it's unheard of. Virgin olives??? How do they know---someone watch them? Ever seen olives do it?

[oksmle]

I knew you guys would have a ball with this post .... oksmle

[Steelbanger]

Dean Grennell said that m o l d was the green stuff that grew on cheese so he was sticking with the word m o u l d for the devices we use.

[9.3X62AL]

AWRIGHT, AWRIGHT--if Elmer and Dean say it's "mould", who am I to say otherwise? Not that I give a rat's bee-hind either way.......

[KCSO]

I only type with four or five fingers so if my U finger is tired it is MOLD and if I am in fine fettle it is Mould, but I refuse to add any darn W's.

[waksupi]

Mould sounds more...voluptuous. Maybe we should reserve it for molds over 45 caliber.
Mowlds would probably be for weird homemade gizzies, that don't shoot well.
I only own bullet molds.