Word for the Wise

October 11, 2007 Broadcast

Topic: Pease porridge

With the occasional nip in the air (at least in some parts of the northern hemisphere) so too is talk about soups and stews. And once again, we've been asked to explain the tale of pease porridge.

These days, pease porridge is better known as pea soup, but where does the pease come from? From the seed of the leguminous vine that was known as a pease, P-E-A-S-E. That terminal S sound led folks to believe the singular pease seed was in fact a plural; by the early 1600s, the singular pea had taken root in our language.

So why don't we simply weed out the incorrect P-E-A and replace it with the proper pease and the plural peases? Two reasons. First, that error is an old and familiar one that has given our lexicon other terms, too. The birthstory of pea—born in an erroneous belief about the plural status of a linguistic ancestor—is shared by words ranging from pry to eave and from cherry to kudo. So why pick on pea?

In addition to problems inherent in singling out the pea and leaving behind a bushel of other words born in error, there is this: despite occasional (and sometimes strenuous) efforts to the contrary, English does not have a regulatory board that yanks out words considered weeds.

Questions or comments? Write us at wftw@aol.com Production and research support for Word for the Wise comes from Merriam-Webster, publisher of language reference books and Web sites including Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition.