vocal chords

qroqqa commented on the word vocal chords

Not an eggcorn. This is a standard spelling.

March 3, 2009

sionnach commented on the word vocal chords

A standard incorrect spelling, maybe.

From that fountain of knowledge, Wikipedia:

Vocal cords, a term commonly used to refer to the vocal folds, is also spelled 'vocal chords', possibly due to the musical connotations or to confusion with the geometrical definition of the word "chord". While both spellings are historically correct, standard American spelling is 'vocal cords'. According to the Oxford English Corpus, contemporary writers opt for vocal chords instead of vocal cords 49% of the time. The 'vocal chords' variant has long been accepted in the United Kingdom (along with other anatomical uses like 'spinal chord'). Even in the United States, both variants can be found from early on, and it was only later on that American writers settled on 'vocal cords' as the standard version.

I'll go with the standard American spelling, the wafer-thin implied majority in the Oxford English Corpus, and the fact that 'vocal chords' makes no particular sense.

It's an eggcorn in my book.

March 3, 2009

skipvia commented on the word vocal chords

I've always thought that spinal chord made sense because having one places you in the chordata phylum. I guess it's an eggcorn as well.

March 3, 2009

rolig commented on the word vocal chords

According to the Oxford American Dictionary, the 2nd definition of "chord (2)" is:

ANATOMY: variant spelling of cord :: spinal chord.

And the etymological note reads:

ORIGIN: mid-16th century. (in the anatomical sense): a later spelling (influenced by Latin chorda 'rope') of CORD.

March 3, 2009

Prolagus commented on the word vocal chords

Skipvia, do you mean eggchorn?

March 3, 2009

sionnach commented on the word vocal chords

Ach! I guess what this discussion proves is that eggcornitude is in the eye of the beholder.

I bow to the superior scolarschip of qroqqa and rolig (how could I do otherwise), but am still keeping it on the list, by appeal to droit de seigneur as list owner.

March 3, 2009

Prolagus commented on the word vocal chords

By the way, is eggcorn an actual eggcorn?

(Edit: the eggcorn page has a good comment about it)

March 3, 2009

rolig commented on the word vocal chords

I can still see this being an eggcorn, at least in the mind of the bestower. I'm pretty sure that I used to think these were vocal chords because they're like the chords you play on a guitar. As the dictionary suggests, cord and chord have a long history of being confused. So what started as an eggcorn became, in some circles at least, an OK tree, while for others it still napped in the bud.

March 3, 2009