SpellingIQ

How to spell gnome

gnome

Gnome is spelled G-N-O-M-E.

Not nome.

'Nome' (a type of administrative division)

Why is gnome easy to misspell?

Silent letters

The word gnome begins with a silent G, and the misspelling nome leaves it out. Gnaw and gnat open the same way: a G that is written and not said.

That spelling matches the sound exactly, which is why it looked right. English keeps letters long after the sound has moved on, so the conventional spelling is often the one that looks least like it sounds.

French spelling: silent g beside n

What does gnome mean?

noun. A legendary creature resembling a tiny old man with a beard and a pointed hat, who guards treasure underground.

Which other words set the same trap?

Where does English spelling come from?

The conventions each language layer left in English spelling, with their sources, are on where English spelling comes from.

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SpellingIQ is a skill rating for spelling ability, not a clinical or psychometric IQ measure. American English is canonical; common variants are accepted.