How to spell rhetoric
rhetoric
Rhetoric is spelled R-H-E-T-O-R-I-C.
Not rhetorick or retoric.
Why is rhetoric easy to misspell?
The word rhetoric has a silent H after the R and ends in a plain C, and the misspelling rhetorick adds a K. Neither letter choice can be heard in the word.
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.
rhetor + ic
Greek spelling: rh for the r sound
What does rhetoric mean?
noun. The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.
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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Play today's Daily FiveSpellingIQ is a skill rating for spelling ability, not a clinical or psychometric IQ measure. American English is canonical; common variants are accepted.