aluminium

Interesting article on the subject at World Wide Words.

Well, "nucular" is just wrong. The same cannot be said of "aluminum", however it might annoy you. Try to calm down, my friend. Fix yourself a soothing cuppa to stave off any conniptions.

It's right up (down?) there with nucular for me. I'll have have to navigate away from this discussion before I'm fraught of conniptions.

I disagree, bilby, but then I grew up with "aluminum", with the stress on the second syllable of course (a crisp iambic). My mind connects the word, pseudoetymologically, with "luminous". The anapestic British word, on the other hand, always sounds somewhat meager to my ear, a mini-word.

Doesn't make aluminum any less ugly.

It can hardly be considered a "misspelling" if that's how it was intended to be spelled. So, quit being haughty jerks about it.

1812, coined by (British chemist) Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829), from L. alumen "alum" (see alum). Davy originally called it alumium (1808), then amended this to aluminum, which remains the U.S. word, but British editors in 1812 further amended it to aluminium, the modern preferred British form, to better harmonize with other element names (sodium, potassium, etc.).

Erm. Platinum? Molybdenum? Long live anomalies, I say!

The names of other elements terminate in "-ium"; the American (mis)spelling "aluminum" is an ugly anomaly.

Ah, but such classical cheap metal. . .and although it may be cheap, it is costly to the environment, I understand.

I've always thought the British spelling was a rather lame attempt to make a cheap metal sound important.

The preferred British spelling, because:

"Aluminium, for so we shall take the liberty of writing the word, in preference to aluminum, which has a less classical sound." "Quarterly Review," 1812

Also aluminum; originally alumium.