![]() According to the OED entry on the two words, the spelling “quire” is still used in the “English Prayer-book” (presumably the Anglican Book of Common Prayer), but the OED entry is from 1889, and that may no longer be true. The rationale was to “Latinize” the word by analogy to “chorus,” but because the pronunciation “quire” was so deeply rooted in popular usage, the result was a word (“choir”) that bore absolutely no resemblance to the way it is said. The “quire” spelling stayed in place until the end of the 17th century, when the spelling “choir” (which the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) deliciously terms “fictitious”) was adopted. “Quire” was also used to mean the specific part of the church or cathedral reserved for the singers. The word retained most of the meanings of the Latin “chorus,” which entered English itself in the 16th century, but “quire” was used primarily in religious contexts while “chorus” tended to more secular use. “Choir” came to English through the Old French form “cuer,” which in Middle English became “quere.” This slowly became “quire” by about the 15th century. Okay, Norah – I finally looked it up – why is QUIRE spelled CHOIR? □ And here it is: “The ultimate root of “choir/quire” is the Latin “chorus,” meaning “company of dancers,” “singers in church,” or the place or area reserved for singers in a church. She widens her eyes and lifts her brows to indicate that really, why wouldn’t choir be spelled QUIRE? We laugh and give a thumbs up to our precious only grandgirl. While the room gasps, Sophie’s other grandmother whispers to me, “If her parents took her to church, she’d have won.” The girls confer, their little antennae hitting each other’s heads as Sophie writes the answer on their white board. The word that Beauty and the Bees must spell: CHOIR (“She sang in the choir.”) The words get more difficult:īy round six, only Sophie’s team and one other remain. Seven teams of three students each prepare their individual white boards to write out their team answers.ĭecide Protect Finger Enjoy Simple Joyful Complexīy the third round, two teams are disqualified. But once the Bee begins, those are discarded. Sophie and her two team members name themselves “Beauty and the Bees.” They each wear black clothing with yellow trim, headbands with bee-like antennas that pop up, and funny sunglasse s that look like bee eyes. She earns the title of Sophie, Spelling Es quire, in my mind.Īll of six of us in the family (parents and both sets of grandparents) sit together in the high school lecture hall – the location for the 3 rd grade Spelling Bee. Last year, Sophie and her team of two other 2 nd graders won first place for their grade. Here in New England, the entire school district participates in a Spelling Bee, from 2 nd grade to 12 th. I certainly had no luck with soccer or swimming or hockey. Perhaps I would have had a chance to earn one trophy in my young age. ![]() As far as I know, none existed in New Jersey. When I was her age, no one s quired me to a spelling bee. ![]() Whatever, I’m pleased to attend my 3 rd grade granddaughter’s spelling bee. I’d like to in quire: how many times has spell check messed them up? Many others (who can’t spell) claim it’s not a re quirement in this day of digital spellchecks. I believe that the number of books you read equates how many words you can spell correctly. My brother, who is a horrendous speller (or as he would spell, a whorendus one), claims spelling is a genetic tick. I ac quired this gift without ever asking for it it’s just part of me.
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